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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Turkey Quinoa Chili

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When I made that tequila turkey chili a few weeks ago, I mentioned that chili isn’t usually a go-to meal for me…and now I’m back with another chili recipe. Fact of the matter is, chili is easy, hearty, and adaptable to serve a crowd. I doubled this batch of chili to serve Ryan’s family and we ended up with massive amounts of chili! My freezer was already full, so we spent a few more days enjoying it and sharing it with friends. I’m pretty sure the double batch made at least 14-16 servings!
The prep for this chili is a little time-intensive…lots of chopping and then browning the meat. I also cooked the quinoa separately before adding it to the chili, but you could probably just cook it, along with its water, right into the chili and it’d be fine. After making my gigantic batch, I placed whatever could fit in my crockpot and let it sit on warm for several hours until dinnertime.

Like most batches of chili, this improves with age. It’s quite fibrous with all of those beans (esp in a double batch), so consider yourself warned if you’re sensitive to that :) Between the vegetables, the quinoa, and the lean turkey, this was a pretty dinner…perfect to pair with some sinful cheesy bread!
One Year Ago: Cinnamon Apple (Breakfast) Cake
Two Years Ago: (the infamous) Kale Chips

Turkey Quinoa Chili
from Eating Well, Living Thin

Ingredients:
-1/3 cup quinoa
-2/3 cup water
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 large onion, diced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tsp sugar
-1 orange bell pepper, chopped
-1 zucchini, chopped
-1 lb ground turkey
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1 tbsp cumin
-2 tbsp chili powder
-1 tsp dried oregano
-1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
-1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
-1 (15 oz) can chicken broth
-1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 (15 oz) can red beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:
1. Bring water to a boil and add quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer quinoa for 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed. Set aside.
2. In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and sugar, sauteing until soft. Add zucchini and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add ground turkey and cook, breaking into chunks, until no longer pink (but not cooked all the way through).
3. Stir in cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cocoa powder, chipotle pepper, tomatoes, chicken broth, and beans. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add quinoa and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.