Happy New Year my fellow foodies!

Chilli? Chili? Chile? Chilly? Listen… you don’t spell it… you EAT it. So however you spell it, don’t care – its how you eat it! am I right? or am I rite? (see what I did there)

I am just sitting down to get to writing this post out. Now that I have gone back to work (on temp contract) I am trying to routine myself into doing a blog a week at the very minimum… which is fabulous news for you all… but a lovely resolution, I need to stick to! Speaking of resolutions… we all do it… and we ALL think, hmm… I bet I could eat a little bit better. Here is the biggest trick to keeping that resolution…. COOK FOR YOURSELF! When you cook at home, you get to control the fat, sugar, carbs and you can portion control! Seriously, try to eat at home more. Now don’t try to be one of those cut cold turkey resolution people. That never works… learn Limits. Set limits. If you’re a big takeout person… limit yourself to 2 or 3 times a month and cook more at home. 90% of the time, it’s better at home. I know I can name 2 restaurants that make better pasta then I can. It’s easy to learn!

This is one of those easy, quick and healthier options to make at home. This chilli is not fat-free or anything like that. I like my cheese and my sour cream and crushed tortilla chips but its all about CONTROLLING how much you put on.

Chilli is one of those comfort meals, I remember my mom making it on cold nights in the fall or winter. It just is hearty, flavourful and filling! My trick to keeping the calories down is to do ground turkey or a couple of boneless chicken breasts instead of fatty ground beef.

If you don’t own a crock-pot/Slow cooker seriously look into getting yourself one. You can make meals while at work! It is an amazing little invention. You can make chilli on the stove… but the longer you let those flavours incorporate the better your chilli gets! So I always use my crock-pot!

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Here is what you need:

crock-pot/slow cooker
1 pkg ground turkey or 2 boneless chicken breasts (ground chicken works too just I would cook it first – because its consistency is thinner)
1 can black beans (rinsed a little and drained)
1 can kidney beans (rinsed a little and drained)
1 medium onion diced
3-4 fat cloves of garlic diced
1 cup diced peppers (green, red, orange, yellow – whatever you got! I used them all!)
1 cup frozen corn
1 can sliced whole tomatoes (you can used diced or crushed – I just like big chunks of tomato in mine)
1 can tomato sauce
1 large jalapeno pepper (or whatever spicy peppers you want) *optional
1 tsp cumin
1 & 1/2 tsp paprika (smoked if you got it)
1 & 1/2 tsp chili powder (use 1 tsp or less if you’re not into the spicy)
1 tsp dried or fresh oregano (anyone who has a spice rack has dried)
salt & pepper to taste

serve 6-10 servings (all depends on how hungry you are… my first bowl was probably worth 2 servings) haha!

Toppings(per serving):

1/4 cup Crushed Lime or Jalapeno Tortilla chips or leave them whole and spoon it on top
1 – 2 slices of lime
dollop of sour cream (2 tsps or one big tbsp) *I also used light sour cream 5%
1/4 cup Jalapeno monterey jack cheese (or marble or cheddar whatever you desire)
green onions
diced Jalapeno or Pickled if that is your jam!
1/4 of a sliced avocado (avocado is a good sour cream sub and it is a healthy fat!)
Hot Sauce (Green Habanero sauce if you want HOT)

What you do:

crock-pot gets turned on to low for 7-8 hours (no more than 10)
cut up your onion and garlic – toss those into the getting hot crock-pot
next goes canned tomatoes
now add in your ground turkey or chicken breasts (rip it up a little as you are putting it in uncooked)
add your tomato sauce and spices (including S&P)
add in your canned beans, peppers and corn
lastly goes in one whole jalapeno (I don’t cut mine into it, as this way gives the juice the flavour and then I hit the top with fresh or pickled – but do your thing – cut em up if you want to! just remember seeds and veins carry the heat!)
leave it alone for about 5-6 hours and then give it some love with a couple stirs and then let it go for the remaining couple hours
once it is ready, get out the big ladle and remove that jalapeno and start scooping into bowls
next is your choice… how you top this guy is on you 🙂 my suggestions are above

Make chilli your own. It’s so simple of a recipe you have so much room to try adding your own twist on it. Add in things you like. More vegetables doesn’t kill anyone. Different beans, meat…. add hot sauce or chipotle peppers in adobo… anything you wish!

What to do with all those leftovers?

put it over a hot dog, or as a sloppy Joe, on top of baked potato wedges with cheese, added to a taco salad, add it to your mac & cheese recipe for a twist, fill a pepper and bake it in the oven, cut out a hole in some decent sized buns and bake it in the oven with some garlic butter rubbed on the bread – SO MANY OPTIONS on how to reuse a huge crock-pot of chilli. Don’t forget you can freeze chilli in a good air tight container for up to 6 months!

Warm up with some Chilli! Happy Cooking Friends!

Printable Recipe is RIGHT HERE… click below!