Cooking Weekend night #1

I've been looking forward to having four days in a row at home for a very long time! Wednesday afternoon after leaving work I went to the grocery store and stocked up on all the ingredients to make a few things. I pored over my homemade cookbook of all the scraps of recipes I've always wanted to make and came up with this list:

Turkey Chili
Artichoke, Spinach and Feta Stuffed Shells
Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Buffalo Sauce
Roasted Root Vegetables
Cinnamon Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate Crunch No-Bake Cookies

Yesterday I tackled the chili. It's a recipe I've used many times (and it won first runner up in the chili cook-off last year). I now have a few containers in the freezer for lunch and even included corn bread muffins! I didn't take a picture but here's the original recipe...

Turkey Chili
Serves 6

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
2 green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
1/5 lb ground turkey breast
2 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp powdered cocoa
1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
2 Tbsp strong brewed coffee
2 14-oz cans plum tomatoes, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups cooked black beans

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or deep skillet. Add the onion, garlic, red and green pepper; saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the ground turkey and saute for 5 minutes, stirring constantly and breaking up any lumps with the spoon.

2. Stir in the flour, chili powder, cumin and cocoa. Stir over low heat, stirring frequently for 3 minutes to cook the spices. Add the remaining ingredients except the black beans and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 40 to 45 minutes, until thick and the turkey is tender. Add the black beans and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

That's the recipe as written. I haven't been able to find that exact description of tomatoes so I just use the petite diced can of regular tomatoes. Maybe they are plum and they just don't say? I also add an additional red or yellow pepper as well as a jalapeno or two. And most importantly my chili is beanless. No beans for me! There are definitely two sides to the beans in chili debate and I am most definitely squarely on the no beans side. To each their own. I also will add beef that's been cooked to shreds, which helps give the flavor a bit more body. The last secret ingredient is 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter. Smooths it out just enough.

Tonight I'm making the shells and maybe some cookies. Or maybe I'll hang out on the couch and watch the ball drop in Times Square. Either way it's a pretty low key New Year's Eve around these parts.

Happy New Year to you!