Brrr...time to warm up the kitchen

It's one of those rare winter days in the Texas hill country. Yes, we have about 3 months of winter, but a normal winter day here has temperatures in the 50s or 60s. Today, the high is predicted to be 43, and it's going to be like this over the coming week...with a low of 23 on Tuesday. I cannot express BRRRRRRrrrrr enough. My hot Texan blood isn't designed to endure these cold days, and this means one thing. It's time to make chili.

Now, I'm not new to the chili-craft but do have a problem when it comes to making it. What happens is an assortment of ingredients that are thrown together, and I don't write down the recipe. So, I hardly ever make the same batch of chili more than once, and it's difficult to duplicate a batch that I really liked months later. That changes today.

On this week's chili menu is a southwestern style turkey chili, and here's the recipe.

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3 lbs ground turkey 85-15

1 lb lean ground turkey 93-7

30 oz can black beans

27 oz can pinto beans

12 oz package of frozen SW style corn

2 8 oz cans tomato sauce

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chilis (Rotel style)

1 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

1/2 cup HEB San Antonio Chili seasoning

2 TBSPN cayenne pepper

It's really simple. Brown the meat in a skillet, one pound at a time, adding some of the chili seasoning to each batch. While the meat is browning, combine the remaining ingredients in a large crock pot, and add the browned meat. Set the pot to cook on high, and cook for about 4 hours.

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Notice that I added Rotel and a couple of tablespoons of cayenne. This is going to be 5 alarm batch, and that is how it should be (although I did add molasses to cut the heat just a little with some sweetness). It also has beans, and I know that Texas chili should NOT include a legume. To me, tradition can sometimes be a good guide but should never be followed rigidly, and since I like the contrast of textures in my chili, I make it with beans (and corn this time). :-P

Normally, I serve chili with cornbread, but this time, hubby and I are going to try it on brown rice. It's a little healthier, which will help with our goals to lose weight after the holidays. Taste testing so far indicates spicy and full of good flavors. Once the chili is done, I'll write an update on how it is.

Here's a teaser pic in the mean time.

-- also playing the depth of field in photography today....tips used are to lower the aperture and increase the zoom. So, I lowered the aperture as low as it would go, 2.8 or 3.5 when I zoomed in on an object.