Another 5 star recipe from everyday food!

First I should apologize for the poor quality of this first pic, sometimes I get so excited to eat that I don't even notice that all of the pictures I just took were blurry.  So you will just have to imagine how good it would look if it were a nice crisp image.  

Now onto more important topics, like the actual food.  So this is a turkey chili and while Logan gave it a whopping 5 stars, I'm not going to lie to you it was more like a 4 for me.  While it was really delicious and probably one of the best chili recipes I've ever had, it was definitely not as amazing and mouthwatering as the ribs that we had a few days earlier.  So in comparing the two, if the ribs were a 5 this was definitely a 4 in my book.  But nonetheless the ratings on here are not called Paige ratings, so we will always go with what Logan decides and he thought this one was a 5 for sure.  So way to go Everyday Food, and Martha Stewart, chalk up another 5 stars from a Logan rating.  :)

This chili was very simple, skill wise, but it did take a little bit more time than I had expected.  It has one of the longer ingredients lists that I've seen so far, but most of the things I had on hand and you may too.  This would be a perfect meal for a rainy summer night or a bitter cold winter evening, probably better with the latter.  Even though I halved the recipe, there was quite a bit of leftover, which is always great, so I was able to freeze a couple of portions and will probably pull them out sometime during the school year when I am way too busy to even think about cooking.  I love having meals on hand in the freezer, we just pull them out put them in the microwave a tad-ah home cooked meal in minutes.  It saves me from ordering a lot of pizzas and/or buying pre-packaged processed frozen dinners, which is great.  Anyway I will stop rambling and get to good part..the RECIPE!  ENJOY!

Tex-Mex Turkey and Bean Chili

(I halved this recipe, it serves 8 as printed)

4 slices of bacon cut crosswise into strips

3 lbs ground turkey

4 onions, coarsely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapeño chiles, minced

3 T chili powder

3 T unsweetened cocoa powder (don't leave this out, it really makes all the difference in the depth of the flavor!)

4 tsp ground cumin

2 cans (28oz each) whole peeled tomatoes in puree

2 T unsulfured molasses

1 cup water

coarse salt

3 cans (15.5 oz each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Assorted toppings, such as cheddar cheese, sour cream, pickled jalapeno slices, and fresh cilantro.

Heat a dutch oven or heavy 5 quart pot over medium heat.  Add bacon; cook, until crisp about 6-8 min.  Raise heat to high; add turkey.  Cook stirring and breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 8-10 min.

Add onions, garlic, jalapenos; cook until soft about 5 min.  Stir in chili powder, cocoa and cumin; cook stirring until fragrant, about 1 min. 

Break up tomatoes with kitchen shears (while still in the can) or with your hands, and add them to the pot along with the puree.  Add molasses, water and 4 tsp salt; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer; cook, partially covered for 30 min.

Add beans; continue cooking, uncovered, until turkey is very tender and liquid has thickened, about 30 min more.  (For this step I put it in the crock pot, this allowed me to go to the gym and when I got home the chili was ready to eat).  Serve with assorted toppings as desired.  

Logan Rating: *****