Hello Lovies! So, who out there likes chili? Who loves chili? Who gets upset when you spell chili with one L instead of two or vice versa? Who out there is a chili purest? Everyone has opinions about chili! But some people are downright indignant if you stray from their preferred recipe for chili. They are probably the same folks that are adamant about chocolate chip cookies. If you are one of those people you should probably not read any farther. This recipe might upset you greatly. However, if you are an open-minded individual who just loves to eat yummy food no matter what the name, then please continue. Actually I would like for everyone to continue reading anyway. I promise you won’t regret it.
I like chili. I am not a huge fan of chili who will eat it at every possible opportunity. I would never order it in a restaurant because there are always so many other options to choose. I do enjoy going to a chili cookoff and trying all the different types. This particular recipe is called Turkey Kind-Of Chili. This is my slightly tweaked version of a Rachel Ray recipe that I found years and years ago. I love this dish. My kids love this dish. Would I expect you to taste this and say, “Hey, this is chili.”? No, I would not. I would hope that you would make some noises of pure enjoyment and ask for more though.
Why do I say that this doesn’t seem like chili? Well, there are no beans or chili powder for one thing. And it is made with turkey for another. So, why should chili lovers (and non-lovers) try it? Because it is freaking delicious!
This super comforting dish is made with ground turkey and very finely diced veggies with wonderful warming spices and a tomato base. Add a dollop of sour cream and a corn muffin topper and you have the perfect tummy pleasing meal. Don’t worry. I am going to tell you how to make the corn muffin toppers too.
To concoct this beautiful pot of yum you will need extra virgin olive oil, unsalted butter, ground turkey, minced garlic, celery, carrots, onions, a fresh jalapeno, salt and pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander, your favorite beer, hot sauce, and canned tomato sauce. Amounts for everything will be in the recipe that follows.
To make the mug toppers you will need Jiffy corn muffin mix, milk, eggs, shredded Colby Jack cheese and dry minced onion plus some butter for the griddle or skillet.
Before you start the chili there is some prep work to do. Finely chop the celery and carrots and onions. I like to use a food processor for this. You want the pieces to be very small and who wants to stand around chopping veggies when you can just whiz them in a food processor for a minute and be done with it? I put them all in the food processor together. Easy Peasy. At this point, you should also finely chop the jalapeno. Make sure to wear gloves and do not touch your face or eyes. If you like more heat you don’t have to remove the seeds. I always do. I would rather add a little more hot sauce later on than have too much jalapeno.
To get the magic started, heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over high heat. Add the olive oil and butter. Heat until the butter is melted and combined with the oil. Add the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink and completely done, breaking up the chunks with a spoon or something as you go along. This usually takes 6 – 10 minutes depending on how heavy your pan is.
Once the turkey is cooked, add the finely chopped carrots, celery, onions and jalapeno. Add the minced garlic. Add the salt, pepper, coriander and cumin and stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring often. Add the beer and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let this mixture cook for about 5 minutes to concentrate the beer and let the flavors meld together. Note, that you should use a non-flavored beer. Use something like a lager and not a dark beer. You can use more than 12 oz. of beer too. I typically use about 16 oz. in ours. And, if you don’t want to use beer, feel free to substitute with chicken broth.
Stir in the tomato sauce and hot sauce (if you are using). Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or so until everything is cooked through and thickened.
Give the chili a taste test to see if you need more salt, pepper or hot sauce.
Once the chili is done let it rest while you make the corn muffin toppers.
Prepare the corn muffin mixes as directed on the packages. Stir in 2 Tablespoons dried minced onion and about 1 cup of shredded cheese. I use Colby Jack but you can use any cheese that you like. Adjust the amount of onion and cheese to your liking.
Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Carefully rub the entire surface with butter. Use a paper towel or the back of a spoon to do this. Drop dollops of about 2 Tablespoons batter onto the hot griddle or skillet. Cook the mini pancakes until bubbles form on the surface, flip them and cook the other side until golden brown. As you can see from my pictures, they can burn easily if you don’t watch them. I was multitasking and got many of mine too done for my taste. Rats. This makes a lot of toppers but you can easily halve the recipe by using only one mix and 1/3 cup milk, 1 egg, and half of the onion and cheese. My family loves these little guys so I always make a bunch.
Serve the turkey chili in a soup mug or bowl with a couple of toppers each. Add a spoonful of sour cream if you like (I like!). Don’t try to figure out if this recipe should be called chili – just enjoy it. Savor all those yummy veggies and turkey along with the sweet/savory little corn muffin toppers. I hope you like this recipe and I don’t even mind if you rename it. Make it yours, by all means. Until next time, Lovies, tata!
Turkey Kind-Of Chili
Ingredients
For the chili:
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 pounds ground turkey
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 4 stalks celery
- 2 large carrots or 2 cups mini carrots
- 2 medium onions
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 12 oz. beer or more if you like
- 1/4 cup hot sauce optional
- 2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
For the corn muffin toppers:
- 2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
- 2/3 cup milk whole or 2%
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp dried minced onions
- 1 cup shredded cheese colby jack, cheddar etc.
- butter for griddle or skillet
Instructions
For the chili:
- Heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over high heat. Add the olive oil and butter. Heat until the butter is melted and combined with the oil.
- Add the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the chunks with a spoon or something as you go along. This usually takes 6 – 10 minutes depending on how heavy your pan is.
- Add the finely chopped carrots, celery, onion and jalapeno.
- Add the minced garlic, salt, pepper, coriander and cumin and stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring often.
- Add the beer and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let this mixture cook for about 5 minutes. Note: do not use a flavored or dark beer. A lager is perfect for this.
- Stir in the tomato sauce and hot sauce (if you are using).
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or so until everything is cooked through and thickened. Taste and add more salt, pepper or hot sauce if needed.
- Make the corn muffin toppers, if desired, and serve the chili with 1 – 2 toppers. You can also add a dollap of sour cream to make this extra delicious.
For the corn muffin toppers:
- Prepare the corn muffin mixes as directed on the packages.
- Add the dried minced onion and shredded cheese and stir just until incorporated.
- Butter a griddle or skillet well and heat over medium heat.
- Drop dollops of about 2 Tablespoons batter onto the hot griddle or skillet.
- Cook the mini pancakes until bubbles form on the surface, flip them and cook the other side until golden brown.
- Serve with chili.
