Red Bean Turkey Chili

I love this cooler weather because it's the perfect weather for soup! And boots and sweatshirts, fires in the fireplace, and snuggling up under the covers at night.  I mean, I would be OK if it wasn't quite so cold already in November, but I'm just going to enjoy it.  And make soup.

I made this one last week, and it's very tasty and satisfying.  I love all the beans.  I can't believe there was a time I didn't like beans.  Now I adore them.  The original recipe called for 2 cans of beans.  I ended up using 4!  I was really only planning to put 3 in, but I accidentally opened a can I didn't mean to open.  The beans were on top of the diced tomatoes I meant to grab, but somehow I moved the beans to grab the tomatoes and then put the tomatoes back and kept the beans - and then I opened them without looking at the can.  Oh well - lots of beans in this soup!

Red Bean Turkey Chili
adapted from Hip Foodie Mom

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1 T cumin
• 1 T dried oregano
• 2 T chili powder
• salt and pepper
• 2 cans (15 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cans (15 oz.) red beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
• 1-1/2 cups frozen corn
• 4 cups turkey broth
• 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 to 3 cups cooked turkey, shredded
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes; optional

Directions:

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds then add and the bell pepper and season with the cumin, oregano, chili powder, and salt & pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the beans, kale, corn, turkey broth, and tomatoes.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat down low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until some of the liquid has reduced. Add the shredded turkey and red pepper flakes (if using) and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!

Like most soups, this is a great make ahead meal. Make it one day, cool and refrigerate, then reheat the next. Soups just get better and better the more times you reheat them. I did end up adding a bit of water the second time I reheated this, because it thickened up a lot and there wasn't much broth left.

The flavors were really good in this.  The combination of seasonings was really good. (I did not use the red pepper flakes because I was afraid it would make it too spicy for my husband, though I think it would have been fine.) 

The original recipe used white beans, chicken stock and rotisserie chicken, Swiss chard, and added some diced zucchini, but I had just pulled some red beans and kidney beans out of my freezer - to make just a regular old pot of chili, except I then realized I had no tomato sauce so I needed another recipe for the beans - so I used the red beans.  I think any beans would work, whatever you like or have on hand.  I used turkey and turkey broth because I had those in my freezer too, and with Thanksgiving coming up and turkeys on sale, I will soon be cooking another turkey and replacing some of that cooked turkey and broth.  I'm cleaning out the old to make room for the new!

Anyway, that's a long way to say - the seasonings are really good in this, but you can mix, match, and substitute the ingredients you have and the ingredients you like, and you're still going to come out with a very good soup perfect for a cool weather meal.   Serve with a pan of cornbread fresh out of the oven, and you have perfection!  Or something very near.