Turkey Chili

I made this recipe for the large Haney family Christmas. I had lots of requests for the recipe, so I e-mailed it on but realized I should also post it. Here it is! I made both our family recipe of beef chili and this turkey chili in order to have enough to feed 15, plus some non-red meat eaters. The recipe is a twist on a turkey chili I read of Rachel Ray's on her web site. It is quite healthy, very tasty, and freezes well.

Turkey Chili
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1.5-2 pounds ground turkey
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce (or about 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper instead, my preference)
1 large onion, chopped roughly
2 large peppers, any color (I like red or orange myself!), chopped
1-1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini
1 can of mixed beans with juice
1 small can of sweet corn (reserve the juice)
1 can tomato soup plus 1/3 can of water

Heat a pot over medium to medium high heat. Add olive oil and the turkey meat. Season the meat with: grill seasoning and let cook for a couple of minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, Worcestershire, and hot sauce/cayenne. Break up the meat into small crumbles. Brown meat 5 minutes, then add the chopped onion, peppers, and zucchini and cook 10 minutes more. Add tomato soup and water and bring to a bubble. Add beans with juice and the canned corn (reserve the corn juice) and let chili simmer 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings and spice heat level to your taste. If it needs to thin out, add canned corn juice. Remove from heat and serve. Serves 8-10. Freezes well.

I also sometimes add a bit of brown sugar (not more than 1 tablespoon) so it is a good mix of richer sweet (but not too sweet!) and heat.

I realize now that I don't think we have even officially recipe tested our family beef chili. Carlyn finds it average, but everyone loved it. I think it's a keeper. Car, did you want to try the beef chili and compare?