Sweet Potato Turkey Chili

Mmmm, chili!  It's a great meal to make on a Sunday afternoon.  The best part is, there is usually leftovers that make for quick dinners and lunches for the week. For this version, I used fresh turkey sausages -- they contain only fresh ground turkey, parsley and salt & pepper.  I don't use ones with lots of additives -- if that is all you can find, then I would suggest using fresh ground turkey.

Here's how I made it:

First, heated my trusty Le Cruset pot over medium-high heat and added a spray of olive oil.  I then squeezed the sausage meat from the casings and browned it while breaking it up with a wooden spoon. 

While the sausage was browning, I chopped one sweet onion and minced two cloves of garlic.

 After the sausage was nicely browned, I put it aside in a bowl.  To the pot, I then added the chopped sweet onion and some salt.  After the onion had sweat for a few minutes, I added the freshly minced garlic.  

As the onions and garlic were browning, I added about 1/4 cup of water to the pan to de-glaze any brown bits from the sausage.  Once the onions were soft, I added the sausage back into the pot along with a mixture of spices: 1 tbsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of cumin and 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper.  

Feel free to add more cayenne pepper if you like your chili extra spicy!  I let the spices "fry" with the sausage and onions for a few minutes while I prepped my tomatoes.

I use canned San Marzano tomatoes -- I like to buy the whole tomatoes, as I think they tend to use higher quality tomatoes for the canned whole tomatoes vs the pre-diced ones.  I took two 28 oz cans and 1 cup of water and pureed them in my Vitamix till they were nice and smooth.  I then added this to the pot and let it simmer while I prepped the other veggies.

I grated the carrots and sweet potatoes in my Cuisinart using the grater disc -- it makes for super quick work of the job!  If you want, you can substitute grated zucchini for the grated carrots.

I also diced 1 sweet red bell pepper.  Once these were prepped, I added the bell pepper, 2 cups of grated sweet potato and 2 cups of grated carrot to the pot. 

Finally, no chili is complete without beans!  I drained and rinsed one 19 oz can of red kidney beans and one 19 oz can of black beans and added them to the pot, along with about a tsp of fresh thyme. 

Just mix the whole works together and let it simmer over medium-low heat for about an hour -- I usually taste it after about 20 min to see if it needs any more salt or pepper. 

I like to serve mine over chopped spinach.  Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
4 turkey sausage link (squeezed from their casing -- approx 400 g -- or just use ground turkey)
1 sweet onion, chopped (approx. 2 cups)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans of whole tomatoes (28 oz cans) -- puree in blender
2 cups shredded carrot (approx. 1 large carrot); or 2 cups of shredded zucchini
2 cups shredded sweet potato
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans (19 oz can), drained and rinsed
1 can red kidney beans (19 oz can), drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cumin
1.8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Makes 10 servings (1.5 cups per serving)


Nutritional Information (Per 1.5 cup serving; made with carrots)
Calories: 248
Fat: 3.1 g
   Saturated: 0.7 g
   Polyunsaturated: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 12.6 mg
Sodium: 555 mg
Potassium: 642.4 mg
Carbohydrates: 37.2 g
   Fiber: 9.8 g
   Sugars: 13.4 g
Protein: 18.7 g
Vitamin A: 162.3%
Vitamin C: 77.7%
Calcium: 9.3%
Iron: 23.9%

Nutritional Information (Per 1.5 cup serving; made with zucchini)
Calories: 242
Fat: 3.1 g
   Saturated: 0.7 g
   Polyunsaturated: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 26 mg
Sodium: 539.6 mg
Potassium: 625.5 mg
Carbohydrates: 35.5 g
   Fiber: 9.3 g
   Sugars: 12.7 g
Protein: 18.7 g
Vitamin A: 101.7%
Vitamin C: 82.2%
Calcium: 8.8%
Iron: 23.9%

Guilt-free Butter Chicken

I love Butter Chicken -- smooth and creamy, and not too spicy.  But the true Indian version is laden in calories from heavy cream.  I decided to try and make a version that still had all the flavour and creaminess, but without the fat.  Hope you like it!

First step was to roast the chicken.  To do this, I took two chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on), and put them on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and some fresh chopped thyme.  I then roasted them in the oven at 375F for 40 min (or until cooked).  I find that roasting a chicken with the skin on gives a more flavourful meat that is nice and moist.  Once the chicken was cooled, I took off the skin, took the meat off the bones and shredded it.  Sorry, I forgot to take picture of this part!!

The next step was to soften half a sweet yellow onion in 1 tbsp of coconut oil (you could also use olive oil as well) with some salt (about 1 tsp).  I use my Le Cruset cast-iron pot for cooking dishes like this -- I love this pot!  It is nice and heavy and gives a nice even heat while cooking.

While the onion was softening, I prepared my spices.  There are lots, but it makes for such nice flavour.  I used 1 tsp each of cumin, tandoori spice, ground ginger, and garam masala; 2 tsp each of paprika, chili powder, and tumeric; 1/8 tsp cayanne pepper (you can add more if you like it spicy) and a few microplane shaves of nutmeg.

Once the onion was softened, I added in 1 tbsp of tomato paste and all the spices.  It is important to 'fry' both the tomato paste and the spices -- it really wakes up the flavours!

 While the tomato paste and spices were frying, I prepared the tomato base.  Here is the secret for the creaminess -- beans!!!  Yes, that is right, white beans!  To make the tomato base, I added one can of whole tomatos (I use San Marzano tomatoes), I can of white beans (drained and rinsed), 1 tbsp of almond butter and water (1-2 cups) to my Vitamix.

Blend them together until smooth and creamy -- add more water, if needed.  You are looking to make a sauce that is thick and creamy.  Preparing the tomato base works best if you have a high-powered blender (I use a Vitamix), since it produces a really fine, silky texture.

Next, add the tomato base into the onions and spice, along with the shredded chicken (10 oz) and simmer for about 45 min.  If the mixture is too thick, add more water, if needed -- I think I added about 3-4 cups total.  Also, taste for seasoning, and add more salt, if needed.

Serve over rice (or quinoa) and garnish with some fresh thyme or cilantro.  Enjoy!!  See below for the full recipe and nutritional information.

Guilt-Free Butter Chicken:

Makes 6 servings (1 cup each serving)

2 Chicken breasts, roasted and shredded (about 10 oz of meat total).
1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
1/2 sweet onion
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tandoori spice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp tumeric
1/8 tsp cayanne pepper (you can add more if you like it spicy)
a few microplane shaves of nutmeg
28 oz (796 mL) can of whole, peeled tomatos
19 oz (540 mL) can of white beans, drained and rinsed (cannellini beans)
1 tbsp almond butter
~3-4 cups of water

Nutritional Info (I calculated this based on the ingredients on My Fitness Pal)

Per 1 cup serving:
Calories: 252
Total Fat: 6 g
    Saturated: 2.3 g
    Polyunsaturated: 0 g
    Monounsaturated: 0.2 g
    Trans: 0 g
Cholesterol: 26.7 mg
Sodium: 471.0 mg
Potassium: 0 mg
Total Carbs: 25 g
     Dietary Fibre: 5.7 g
     Sugars: 6.7 g
Protein: 23.7 g
Vitamin A: 18.2%
Vitamin C: 24.7%
Calcium: 10%
Iron: 24.3%