Chili on a chilly night!

When it is this cold out, all I want to do is drink tea, eat soup, and cover myself with a bunch of blankets. Last night for dinner I made a chili and it was perfect for such a cold day (recipe below). It may look like a lot of ingredients, but most of the ingredients are from spices so you can make your own chili season or use a low-sodium packet.

Ground Turkey Chili with Kale and Sweet Potatoes

Serves: 5

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: at least 2 hours in crock pot (the longer=better)

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound ground turkey
• 1 cup broth (any flavor)
• 1 cup kale leaves, ripped off the steam
• 2 sweet potatoes, cubed
• 1 cooking onion, cut in four pieces (but you can make little slices)
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 can (25oz) crushed tomato
• 1 cup black beans (if from can, rinse before adding to chili)
• 1 cup pinto beans (if from can, rinse before adding to chili)
• 1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans (rinse before adding to chili)
• toppings: avocado, greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, whole grain tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Mix all the spices together and set aside.
2. In a crock pot, heat to high heat, add olive oil. Let oil get hot (1 min), add ground turkey and let it brown (3 min). Reduce to medium heat.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except spices, and stir.
4. Add the mixture of spices, slowly. You may not want to use all the mixture, depending on if you like you chili really seasoned. We used 3/4 of the mixture, which leaves me with some for another day. But if you like a lot of spices, add the whole mixture.
5. Let it sit in the crock pot at medium heat for 4 hours, or increase the heat for it to be done in 2 hours. The longer, the better! 
6. Cozy up on the sofa with a warm cup of tea while waiting!
7. When chili is ready, add your favorite toppings and enjoy this nutritious chili!