Living Lou's Chili con Carne

One of the clearest memories from my childhood has to do with chili. I was five, and was in my kindergarten class crying my eyes out with a terrible, painful ear ache. Lying on a big red pillow with tears steaming down my face, my Dad came and picked me up and brought me home.

Now, my Dad loves to make chili, so that day, after a nice nap and some wonderful medicine to help my ears, we spent the afternoon at home making chili. The smell engulfed the whole house and I immediately started to feel better. After all, when you're a five year old girl, spending the day with your hero, in my case my Dad, might be one of the best things in the world. I remember he let me stir the chili and it was so thrilling, it's probably one of my earliest and fondest memories in the kitchen.

Ever since then, I've loved chili. My Dad and I enjoy sharing our love for chili and trying out different recipes - he has his favourite and I have mine. This is my favourite recipe and we both agree that this is a pretty mean and flavorful chili. This chili is made with ground turkey, because personally, I prefer the texture because it isn't quite as tough as beef, but feel free to sub in ground beef if that's your preference!

Have you heard of Soup-a-Palooza? It's pretty fun, and since I'm such a big fan of soups as I've mentioned before it's perfect for me! Come check it out, and join in the fun with TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers. There are tons of other recipes for soups, stews and chilies as well as fun prizes!

Living Lou's Chili con Carne

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lbs ground turkey
1/2 small onion, chopped or grated
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 rounded tbsp chili powder
1 rounded tbsp grill seasoning (such as Montreal Steak Seasoning etc.)
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper*
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

*if you're making this for kids, or do not like spicy food, omit the cayenne pepper or use 1/8 tsp

Directions

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pot, cook turkey over medium heat until fully cooked, crumbling throughout the process. About 5 minutes.

During that time you can chop (or grate) the onion and chop the garlic.

Once turkey is done cooking and is crumbled to your desired sized, add in the onion, garlic, chili powder, grill seasoning, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper. Allow to cook until very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stirring throughout to be sure the spices are evenly distributed.

Add in the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Finally, add in your kidney beans and serve with your favourite toppings!

This chili is very quick and easy to make, it takes around half an hour.

- Lou