Thursday, January 19, 2012

Turkey Black Bean Chili...with Avocado!

When we returned to our apartment on Sunday, our fridge was incredibly empty. Also, some of us gained a few pounds in Taiwan, so I wanted to make something healthy. With protein and tons of fiber, chili tops  the list of healthy, super-cheap, super-easy foods.  When our mail hold ended on Tuesday, I got my newest Food Network magazine and saw that chili was actually on the cover, touted as a low-calorie meal. I'm essentially a genius.

It seems like every time I make chili, I feel like I just throw in a little bit of this and a little bit of that based on the general idea that I have in my head.  By the time I realize the finished product actually tastes pretty good, I've usually forgotten the exact amounts of spices I've put in, so the experience sadly cannot be repeated.  With this frequent mistake in mind, I decided to pay a little bit more attention to the included spices by jotting the barebones recipe onto the back of a receipt.  Surprisingly, this isn't the best way of holding onto things, so I've decided to transfer the recipe to the good ol' internet.  Hopefully the internet will remain free so that I can continue blathering on this blog forever.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds turkey meat
  • 1 onion coarsely chopped
  • 5 minced cloves garlic 
  • 2 red peppers coarsely chopped
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cans black beans
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or 1 dark beer
  • 1 or more ripe avocados 

I browned the meat with the onions and garlic, then sprinkled on some salt and pepper. Then, I I simply dumped the rest of the ingredients into the pot, stirred it up well, and simmered it for 20 ish minutes.

The dark chocolate chips and dark beer give the chili some depth. Make sure that you use dark chocolate, otherwise you'll just be filling your chili with sugary nonsense.  Ooh, and something we love doing is eating our chili with a deliciously ripe avocado! Just cube the avocado and heap a few hefty chunks into your bowl. The smoothness of the avocado is a great contrast to the texture of the chili, and the flavor of the avocado also is a lovely complement.