Harvest Chili

I've made this easy and delicious Veg-Head Three-Bean Chili by Rachael Ray now twice and it is so good, I just had to share it! It's a vegetarian chili that calls for refried beans to thicken it. I add a pound of ground turkey to ours for a different texture and a little meat!

(Health Tip: When you buy the beans, canned tomatoes and stock be sure to get the lower sodium kind to help make your chili even more healthy.)

The Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) olive or vegetable oil
1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 cup pale beer or vegetable stock/broth
1 (32- ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can black beans
1 (14-ounce) can dark red kidney beans
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cayenne hot pepper sauce, several drops
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup spicy vegetarian refried beans

The Directions:
Brown the turkey with part of the onion and garlic over medium heat. Set aside. Add oil to a deep pot and combine remaining onion, garlic and chopped peppers and saute for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat until soft. De-glaze pan with beer or broth, add tomatoes, black beans, red kidney beans (I threw in a can of whole pinto beans as well) and cooked turkey, stirring to combine.

Season with cumin, chili powder, hot sauce (I use Cholula and cayenne pepper to get a good heat), and salt. Thicken chili by stirring in refried beans. Simmer over low heat about 5 to 10 minutes longer. Check the heat to taste and add more cayenne or hot sauce if needed.

Serve up bowls of chili and top with shredded cheese, scallions, and light sour cream. I also made quick biscuits to go along with ours. In the words of Rachael Ray, "Yum-O!"

A perfect dish for a chili fall afternoon!