Saturday, January 7, 2012

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.


4 comments:

  1. If it tastes like Skyline Chili, I'm out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The chili turned out much better than the football team.

    Quarry - I would never challenge your refined taste buds, but if you don't like this chili, you're not right in the head.

    SF

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sus: You will love this recipe
    QLF: I repeat: Chocolate+Garlic+Cheese = amazingness.

    ReplyDelete