Ethel's turkey chili.
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Why I Love This Recipe
This recipe comes from a family friend, Ethel. I think the first time she made it for us was when my mom had knee surgery. She makes it "Cinncinati" style over rotini pasta. It's a complete meal in one, my favorite type of recipe! When I was home from college she would make huge batches of it and I would take it back to school with me, freeze some and defrost it and microwave it little by little. It's great study food for all students and grad students.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 16oz package of rotini pasta.
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil.
1-1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey (you could also use ground chicken, beef, or pork).
1 package El Paso taco mix.
1 diced onion.
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes.
1 8oz can tomato sauce.
1 6oz. can tomato paste.
1 can pinto beans (you could also use kidney beans, but I like pinto beans best).
8-10 oz. frozen corn (if you can get roasted frozen corn from Trader Joe's that's even better).
2 Tbsp. chili powder.
Cumin to taste.
Cayenne to taste.
1-2 tsp. sugar to cut down on acidity.
cheddar cheese and sour cream for toppings (optional).
Directions
Bring pasta water to a boil and cook according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, in a large heavy bottomed pot heat oil over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and brown (when using ground beef you probably won't need to use any oil). When turkey is no longer pink, add onion until softened. Add taco mix, 2 tbsp. or more of chili powder, a sprinkling of cayenne pepper and cumin powder according to how spicy you like it. Stir, then add dice tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir fairly often and bring to a "bubble" (almost a boil). Stir and add pinto beans and frozen corn. Stir again and bring back to a bubble. Immediately lower the heat to a simmer and stir every once in a while. You can add 2 tsp. or so of sugar to cut down on the acidity. Let the chili simmer for an hour. It doesn't really need to simmer that long, I usually don't have the patience. I'd say let it simmer until it is the consistency that you like.
Serve over top of pasta and add cheddar cheese and sour cream for toppings if you'd like.