Turkey Chili

Ah, Super Bowl Sunday. What other day sends everyone to the supermarket in the morning, to their friends' homes in the afternoon, and drunkenly to the interstate that night? Though I had plans to do basically the same thing, this party would interfere with my Sunday cooking. Or would it?! A quick trip to Food Network's website revealed a simple chili recipe I could bring with me to poison feed my friends!

The trip to Price Chopper was not without incident. I nearly got in seven accidents on the way and the store was absolutely packed. I was surprised to find ground turkey already packaged for me and Goya's chiles chipotles was a great way to get a chili pepper with its own adobo sauce. But when looking for kidney beans, I came across giant hole left in the canned vegetable section. As I stared at the markèd absence, a large woman rolled up and, ninjaing two of the last three cans, said, "Not a good day to be looking for kidney beans". Chuckling - and pretending like I knew what the hell she was talking about - I replied, "It sure is". Pause. "I wonder why". She looked at me, exasperated. "Chili," she said, in a voice that let me know my ruse had been exposed for the sham it was. All hopes of pretending to know something about cooking evaporated like the weight she wished she could lose.

Anyway, this cooking thing is getting easier. Chop up some garlic and onions, sauté in olive oil, and add some spices. Smells great. Add the chili and tomato paste, ground turkey, kidney beans, and crush the whole tomatoes. Let cook. Eat. Win. OK, I didn't mention my challenge this Sunday. Jeremy called at 2pm to say that we were getting together at 5. I immediately bolt to buy ingredients, get home and start cooking, and throw the chili into my crock pot to transport down to Delmar. I remembered, then, that I had neglected to take a picture of the finished meal before putting the crock pot in the floor of my car. That photo turned out less than appetizing so I'll spare you.

However, the chili was really great. I made some more tonight, ate half, and bottled the rest for lunch this week. Fuck yeah, bitches. Ooops, sorry. On my mother's suggestion, combining the chili with Fritos and shredded cheese (sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack jalapeño) was a fantastically delicious and healthy(!) dish. Well, I won't be home next Sunday to cook. I'll be spending the weekend in and around sunny San Francisco. Maybe I'll post some photos and stories from my trip? Maybe I'll ignore you because I'm tired and lazy? Maybe both!