Chili

 A couple people have brought to my attention that I need more healthy recipes on the blog. So I thought I'd post a recipe for chili.  With sour cream and cheese on top. :)  You can leave it off if you find it offensive.  However, I don't find it offensive, I find it lovely.  I really like this chili recipe for a few reasons.  It's really easy, it really fresh tasting and delicious, it's really healthy (if you just eat the chili by itself), it doesn't take a ton of ingredients, and it keeps so well.  Leftover chili is just as delicious, or maybe more so than the first day.  Tonight, we served it with cornbread and can I just say that it's the first cornbread I have made from scratch that I LOVED, but more on that tomorrow.  Chili is the kind of thing that would be good to double the batch and freeze half.  And I think I have a recipe coming up that you can use the frozen half for. ;)

Chili
Ingredients: 
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey (I usually use turkey, because I am so healthy.) ;)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
 2 cloves minced garlic
1 can (14.5 oz) diced Italian-style tomatoes
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
salt to taste
serve with cheese and sour cream, optional

Directions:
Over med-high heat, cook turkey or beef with onion and peppers, cook until meat is done and onions are translucent, add garlic and cook 2 more minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  I think it's better if it simmers for an hour, but sometimes I don't have time.

If you wanted to use your crock pot, you could brown meat, onions and peppers, add garlic cook two minutes then transfer to slow cooker, add remaining ingredients and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Serves 4-6

Source: Adapted slightly from: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook: 11th Edition (Crime Line)