This morning I changed Tensday to Eightsday because I’m lazy. But, I’ll do 9 next Tensday and then finally build it up to ten and keep it there for a longer mid-week run.
When I got back I had breakfast, cleaned up and started on dinner. Nothing like finishing one meal to cook another, right?
Since I was vegetarian for so long I don’t have a lot of “go-to” meat recipes. Plus, I only really buy ground turkey and chicken breasts. I make “salsa chicken” or turkey meatloaf or turkey spaghetti and that’s it.
But I wanted to try something different with the ground turkey and I decided to make Chili in the Crockpot
I used the following ingredients:
Ingredients:
- 20 oz. ground turkey
- 1c diced onions
- 2 Tb. minced garlic
- 1c pumpkin
- 1 packet TJ’s Taco Seasoning
- 1 can each: kidney beans, black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cans diced tomatoes
- 1c diced bell peppers (optional)
I don’t follow recipes, but I did need to ask Twitter for some help on whether or not I actually cook the turkey before putting it in the crockpot.
I was hoping the answer was “No” because the whole point of the crockpot is ONE POT and Easy! But, the consensus was “Yes”.
It was Amelia’s “gray meat” comment that got me to cook it. Gross.
Healthy Turkey Chili with Pumpkin Recipe
Step 1: Cook the turkey with 1 cup onions and 2 Tb. garlic.
Step 2: Drain and rinse beans. Add everything to the crockpot. Stir.
Step 3: Turn on Crockpot to low. Set it and forget it (for 4-7 hours).
Step 4: Eat!
I love how colorful this chili is! I call it Confetti Chili 
In other news, I went to Costco today and enjoyed their AMAZING Cinnamon Roll Bread. The slices are ridiculously thick – just like I like it 
And glazed with a sugar frosting. So good.
Oh, and they’re over 200 calories per slice. So, I put it back on the shelf and got one more sample for the road. Don’t judge.
Lunch: Salad topped with a frozen meal and raisins, almonds and dried apples. Weird, but good. You can make your own dried apples using a dehydrator from ukjuicers.com, which always delivers perfect results.
Appetizer:
I forgot to share the souvenir Ben and I got from Monterey! We collect Christmas ornaments from our travels and this is our latest addition:
Cause he’s my otter half
(source)
I have some cornbread baking up to go with the chili. I tried to “healthify” it so I’ll let you know how it comes out!
I don’t know about pumpkin in chili, because I like my pumpkin flavor to be sweet. Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin oatmeal – now I’m all over that!
We collect Christmas ornaments too! I thought we were the only ones who brought out every souvenier once a year..glad we aren’t alone 🙂 and I LOVE that otter ornament!
I love adding pumpkin to chili!
B & I have been traveling more and I’m totally stealing your ornament idea! Love it.
I never would have thought to put pumpkin in chili but it looks amazing!! i might have to try this one!!
Who needs cookbooks when you’ve got twitter?! Those otters are adorable.
Oh my goodness that otter ornament is just adorable! I work at an Estate that has a nature center and we have two otters and I love to go sit and watch them play. I could waste the whole day over there.
The chili recipe has me thinking. I think I could get it past my husband except for the pumpkin…
That chili looks SO good! Yum. I need to get a crockpot one of these days, but I have no room in my tiny apartment to store all the cool kitchen appliances I want! Boo.
Cute otter ornament 🙂 Whenever I go to the aqaurium, the otters are the first thing I look for.
We collect ornaments from our travels, too. I have a special tree for them, and I like that tree better than my pretty, fancy one!
Ooooh…. pumpkin in turkey chili?? I never would have thought. I generally hoard my cans of pumpkin like Gollum during the “off” season (I don’t know about where you are, but in my part of SoCal, it’s never in stores January through October) but I might have to make an exception and try this!
I love my crockpot! Nothin’ beats walking into the house after a long day, with dinner already cooked!
Oh gosh, that sounds delicious! I might actually make that recipe. The pumpkin intrigues me. I’m definitely an omnivore. When I get the flu, the first thing my body craves is steak! I typically only eat steak after being sick for a week or so. I trust my inner wisdom on that one.
I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to hear about that mysterious, exciting email!!!
Just wondering- why did you decide to stop being a vegetarian? I only eat fish, but sometimes I crave protein, like a turkey sandwich!
I put pumpkin in my chili all the time! I sneak it into everything, pasta sauce, applesauce, meatloaf…. I put it in my stuffed pepper mix this time too. 🙂
My hubby and I collect Christmas Ornaments from our travels too, so much fun!
We use unsweetened applesauce in place of oil and eggs in baked goods. It works well. That chili looks tasty. I usually throw my meat in the crockpot on high until it is cooked then I add the other ingredients. This way you are only using one pot and if you do not have any liquid in it the meat will brown.