The Pride of Southern Ohio

There's something that I haven't fully admitted to you. While I am a big sports fan, my leanings go towards Ohio State (everything) and Cleveland Indians baseball. I do not care that much about the NFL. It has nothing to do with the Browns less-than-stellar record, and more to do with I just don't find the NFL that interesting.

That makes just one of us in the house. The hubs, on the other hand, is a huge NFL fan. Fantasy football, blah blah blah. And he's a Bengals fan. Because he's from Cincinnati. This does not make us quite a house divided, although I do get a bit of amusement whenever they lose to the Browns, because he cares so very much.

For tonight, I decided to honor these southern Ohio roots and make the perfect football watching meal. And, because we are watching the game on delay as I type this, I have no clue what the outcome is. And while I don't really care, being the good wifey that I am, a teeny, tiny part of me does want the Bengals to win simply because it would make the hubs sooooo happy.

Cincinnati Turkey Chili
Source: Cooking Light, September 2009

Ingredients:

• 4oz spaghetti (skip)
• Cooking spray
• 8 oz lean ground turkey
• 1.5 c. prechopped onion
• 1 c. chopped green bell pepper (skip)
• 1 tbsp bottled minced garlic
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/2 c. chicken broth (used no-salt)
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (used no-salt)
• 2.5 tbsp chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 tsp salt (skip)
• cheese

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to directions. Drain, set aside.
• Heat a dutch oven over med-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add turkey; cook 3 mins, stirring to crumble. Add 1 c. onion, bell pepper and garlic; saute 3 mins. Stir in chili powder and next 5 ingredients (through allspice). Cook 1 min.
• Add broth, beans and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 mins, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat; stir in chocolate and salt.
• Serve chili over spaghetti, top with onion and cheese.

Yield: 4 servings (1/2 c. spaghetti; 1.5c  chili; 2 tbsp onion; 3 tbsp cheese)
Per serving: 408 cals; 13.8g fat (6.6g sat, 4.3g mono, 1.7g poly); 24.5g protein; 47.4g carb; 79g fiber; 765mg sodium

Reviews/Ranking:
I have made this chili a bunch of times before and it is one of my favorites, so I am pre-reviewing and ranking this while it cooks. I actually doubled this recipe to make sure we had plenty of leftovers. Plus, who doesn't love a recipe that includes pretty much all of my favorite things? Cheese, garlic, chocolate. Four forks.