Weekly Wonders: Chili of the Moms

This week's recipe is a very easy one that goes a long way on a cold day: Chili.

I never ate much chili until I met Jake. My mom occasionally made a vegetarian version with tofu and beans, which I liked but I wasn't always sure about the consistency of the tofu. And then Jake, lover of his mom's chili, introduced me to another version.

In the beginning, this was one of the dishes Jake used to make for me, following his mom's recipe. But after a while I took over and added some tweaks of my own. Then I went gluten free and the tweaks returned to bring you the recipe below.

This recipe can easily be made in a large batch and freezes well.

You will need:

Ground turkey (or tofu or omit if you want to go vegetarian)
2 cans of tomato sauce
2-3 cans of beans (we like red kidney, cannelli, and/or pinto beans)
~1 cup frozen corn
~1 tbsp sugar or honey
spices (see below)

You will also need:

Either 2 packets of chili seasoning mix*:

Or, for a gluten free version, the following:

Garlic powder, paprika, taco seasoning, ground cinnamon, cumin, chili powder.

*Note: if you are in the Ann Arbor area and you would like to have some of these mixes for free, please let me know! I have 5 packets and I can't use them because they contain wheat flour. I would be very happy to give them away to a good home.

Begin by browning the turkey. I do everything in my heavy-bottomed soup pot = less dishes.

Once the turkey is completely cooked, add the tomato sauce and two cans of water.

Drain the beans and add them as well.

Mix everything together well, then add the corn. At this point you can also add some whole/chopped tomatoes if you like.

Let everything cook for a little bit, then add the spices. I haven't included amounts because it's really up to personal taste. Also add the sweetener to combat the acidity of the tomatoes.

If you are not using the premixed chili seasoning, you will need to add a bit of flour to thicken the chili. I used about 1 tbsp of brown rice flour. Sprinkle it in so that it doesn't end up as one big clump.

Finally, let the chili cook down to the desired consistency. Taste it every once in a while and adjust the seasonings as needed. I usually let the chili cook for 2-3 hours on a low flame.

Serve with grated cheese, yogurt, avocado, chips, crackers — whatever you like!

Enjoy!