Ground Chicken (or Turkey) Chili 

Upwardly Mobile Ideals: High Protein, Low Carb, Cost Effective (can be stretched), Make Ahead, Elegant Flavors.

This Chili is a surprisingly healthy and nutritious option for a game-day feast, a high/low dinner party, or can be prepared on a day off and frozen in individual portions for a post-work-out weeknight dinner any day of the week. Healthy and flavorful with a twist of elegance, this chili can be customized to your tastes and mastered to become your official chili recipe.

Upwardly Mobile Techniques: Many chili recipes call for a “rustic” or “chunky” texture to capitalize on the heft and homey goodness of the ingredients.  This Chil’s elegance comes from a more refined texture along with a sophisticated seasoning mixture and some Red Wine.  So take the time to dice the vegetables small, cook them slow, use smaller bean choices and make sure the ground meat gets broken up into small pieces during the cooking process. I suggest doing the bulk of your vegetable preparation before you start cooking. Your patience will be rewarded: the result is a complex chilli with layers of flavor in every spoonful.

1 package ground chicken/turkey (1 Pound)
Canola Oil and Olive Oil
Chilli Powder
Smoked or Sweet Paprika
Chilli Flakes or Cayanne Pepper
Ground Cumin
Sugar
Salt
1 Medium Onion (diced small)
2 Carrots (diced small)
1 stalk celery (diced small)
1 Red Pepper (diced small)
1 Orange/Yellow Pepper (diced small)
1 Green Pepper (diced small)
1 large clove garlic (minced)
1/2 Bottle Red Wine (Cabernet or Merlot)
Tomato Paste (about 2 Tbs.- buy the stuff in the tube!)
1 Bay Leaf
1 large can diced or crushed tomatoes (good quality)
1 to 2 cans of small red beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1. Take the ground meat out of the fridge to bring to room temperature. Prep Onion, Carrots and Celery and place in one bowl. Prep Peppers and garlic and place in a second bowl. Heat a large dutch oven until good and hot.

2. Coat the bottom of the pan with a mixture of Canola and Olive oil. Spread the ground meat on the bottom of the pan and let it brown (don’t touch it for a good few minutes!). While you wait for it to brown, season the top with Chilli Powder, Cumin, Salt, Sugar, Paprika, and Chilli Flakes (cayanne pepper) to taste. Once the bottom is browned, stir the meat, break it up and season again. When the meat is cooked through, remove the meat to a plate and set aside.

3. Turn the heat to medium low, add more oil and begin to slowly saute the onions, carrots and celery. Season with Salt, Sugar, Chilli Powder, Cumin, Paprika and Chill flakes to taste and continue to slowly saute. This will take some time!  Embrace it. The low-temperature saute on these aromatics is where flavor is formed, don’t rush it! Let them slowly pick up the flavors from the pan. Once they are softened, add the peppers and garlic. Season again to taste. While these saute, you can further chop or break up the ground meat on a cutting board to achieve the texture you desire.

4. Add the meat back to the pan and sir to combine. Add the bay leaf. Turn the heat up to Medium high and add the Red Wine and tomato paste. Stir and bring to a bubble, let the wine cook down a bit. Then add the can of tomatoes (with liquid) and your beans. Add water or chicken broth to cover everything and bring the entire mixture to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and season as you like.

5. Simmer at a low simmer (just barely bubbling) for 1 hour (at least) covered. Then simmer uncovered until the chilli is the consistency you want. Add more water or chicken broth if it gets too dry, simmer longer uncovered if it is too wet. Remove bay leaf. Taste once more for seasoning before you serve.

Serve: With your favorite Chili accouterments, Sour Cream, Green onions, Tortilla Chips, Corn Bread, etc.  Chilli can be made the day ahead-  cool completely in the pan (at least an hour or two) and store in the refrigerator.  Simply bring to a simmer on the stove top.  Or seal tightly in individual plastic containers (such as “Gladware”) and freeze for a quick weeknight meal.

The Upwardly Mobile Insider:

• The mixture of Canola and Olive Oil helps to lower costs (Canola is cheaper than Olive) and also allows for higher temperature cooking:  Canola (or grapeseed, or vegetable) Oil has a higher “smoke point” than delicate Oilve Oil.
• Up the bean quotient, or use more beans to stretch this meal, add protein and get more bang for your buck.
• This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled – just make sure you have a big enough pan and don’t underseason.
• Make a seasoning mix beforehand:  Mix your preferred ratio of seasonings in a bowl and use that mixture to season throughout the cooking process.  Mine is 2 tablespoons chile powder, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and 1 teaspoon chili flakes.
• Top your Chili with seran wrap in its plastic containers before putting the lid on and freezing to discourage freezer burn.