Good afternoon everyone! It’s my favorite kind of day here in East TN-gloomy and rainy.  Some might think that’s crazy, but I love a rainy day stuck indoors because it forces me into productivity around the house.  And there’s nothing like cooking up something cozy in the kitchen on a day like today.  Soups, roasts, casseroles…any kind of comfort dish really can make for a great way to spend a drizzly day in.  It’s also a great time to let your crock pot do the cooking for you.  Just toss in all your ingredients and let that bad boy go all day while you’re cleaning out your closets (at least that’s what I need to do today.)

If you’re like me, you’ve had plenty of chili in your day.  So the other night I wanted something that would warm my bones but have a little different pizazz than your regular run of the mill chili.  Thus was born my Spicy Chipotle Chili! The smoky flavor of the adobo sauce and heat from the chile peppers was a delicious surprise on my taste buds.  It’s also full of fiber, low in calories and fat and super filling, so make sure to watch your portions.  As with all my recipes, you need to adjust to suit your taste. I love spicy stuff.  So instead of 2 tablespoons of adobo and 2 chile peppers, you may want to cut back to 1 and 1, or you may want to alter the seasonings a bit.

Spicy Chipotle Chili

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 small onion, or 1/2 a larger onion

1/2 large green bell pepper

2 chile peppers in adobo sauce

2 garlic cloves

1 can hot chili beans

1 can 3 bean blend (or regular red kidney beans if tri-bean is not available.  I used Kroger’s Simple Truth Organic Tri-bean)

1 can of chili ready diced tomatoes

1 small can of original rotel

2 tablespoons of adobo sauce from can of peppers

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2-1 teaspoon salt (start with 1/2 and taste, add more if needed)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Grease a large skillet with nonstick or olive oil.  Dice your onion, peppers and garlic and add to skillet with ground turkey.  Cook meat, stirring until crumbled and cooked through.  In crock pot, add remaining ingredients.  When turkey blend is done, add to crock pot and stir to combine all ingredients.  Let simmer on low for 6 hours, or until hot and bubbly.

And that’s it!  You can eat this with a small baked potato, or some crackers or a sandwich, or just on it’s own.  I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did.  Now it’s time for me to get off the computer and start working around the house.  These closets aren’t going to clean themselves!