How to Make Low Fat Turkey Chili in Your Crock Pot

With the cold weather in parts of the country, it's a wonderful idea to cook my healthy crock pot turkey chili because it will fill your whole house with a lovely aroma and will warm you up with nutritious and delicious flavors! Try this easy recipe that practically cooks itself.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 4 cups dry pinto beans, well-rinsed
• 1 can dark red kidney beans (if you can find dried, get them)
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped red/purple onion
• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 5 large, ripe tomatoes, or one 12 ounce can of chopped tomatoes (discard any juice)
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded, cored and chopped into small chunks
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey, lowest fat (under 10% fat if you can find it)
• 1 tbsp. crushed, dry basil
• 1 tsp. crushed, dry tarragon
• Chili powder to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 quart crock pot
• Large, high sided nonstick frying pan
• Spatula
• Measuring cup

1. Place the rinsed, dry pinto beans in your crock pot and cover with about 8 cups of water. Do not season these dry beans with anything yet. Turn on the pot to High, put the lid on, and leave it alone for several hours. It takes about 4 to 5 hours for the pinto beans to absorb all that liquid and cook to tender. Each crock pot is different, so you’ll have to test this yourself.
2. When the beans are tender and most of the water is absorbed, start preparing the rest of your ingredients. In a large, high-sided frying pan, on medium-high heat, heat the 2 tbsp. of oil and sauté your crushed garlic and onion. Put your ground turkey in the pan as well and sauté it for a few minutes. Cook this separately because you want to eliminate some of the fat, not that there will be much if you get the lowest fat content ground turkey available.
3. While the turkey is cooking, place the other chopped and/or canned vegetables directly into the crock pot and mix in with the pinto beans. Season with your herbs, salt and pepper.
4. Once the ground turkey, garlic and onion combination is cooked lightly, spoon off any additional fat and empty this into the crock pot as well.
5. Stir this into mix with the veggies. Add your chili powder, stir and leave alone.
6. Allow this crock pot mixture to cook on high for approximately 3 to 4 hours, or until all ingredients are cooked through and any liquid is bubbly.

Tips & Warnings

• Serve this delicious chili with low fat wheat or sourdough baguettes with low fat margarine spread.
• Garnish with reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese if desired.
• Chopped green onions make a nice, nonfat garnish also.
• Use leftover chili the next day as a topping for a baked potato.
• Don’t forget to refrigerate the chili once the crock pot has cooled down, and you have had a terrific dinner. I place the inside portion (ceramic pot) of my crock pot directly into the refrigerator so it can last a little while. (This dish never lasts long at my house!)