102. Turkey Chipotle Chili (p. 388)

Continuing on the theme of "cook something big on the weekend so we don't have to cook during the week," I made this recipe because it looked like it would freeze well and because I knew that it would be good for three or four meals.

Actually, between the food I cooked and froze in advance, the cooking that I've been doing on the weekends, and the meals that a co-worker's wife has been making for us (she's a saint!), my wife and I haven't had to cook dinner on a weeknight since my son was born five weeks ago. It's made such a big difference.

The first thing that I did to make this chili was to puree some canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and some fresh tomatillos (I was surprised to find fresh tomatillos at the grocery store in January. The Book says that canned are OK, too.) and put them aside. Next I cooked up some chopped onions, minced garlic and cumin. I added four pounds of ground turkey (this is a meaty chili) and cooked it until it was no longer pink. Then I added the two purees, some chicken broth, a bay leaf and some oregano. After that had simmered for a while, I added some chopped green bell pepper and chopped canned green chiles and simmered for a while longer. Finally, I added some canned white beans that had been drained and rinsed. Once it was heated through and seasoned with salt and pepper, it was ready to eat, topped with a dallop of sour cream and a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese.

This was a nice, hearty, meaty chili. The use of tomatillos insted of tomatoes gave it a nice bright and tangy flavor. I didn't think that the chipotle and adobo flavor were strong enough, and when I make this again (this recipe is a keeper), I'll add more to give it some of additional heat and smokiness.

Date Cooked: January 25, 2009
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: B+