I’ve been making this chili since I was a teenager. It’s based on my grandmother’s recipe with just a few changes. Back then, I used beef. Now I use ground chicken or turkey. No one ever misses the beef. It’s that good!

Ingredients:

1 to 2 pounds of ground chicken or ground turkey

1 can of diced tomatoes with chiles (mild or hot)

1 can of stewed tomatoes (I break the stewed tomatoes up when I add them to the chili.)

2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato paste

2 cans of kidney beans (dark and/or light)

1 can of mushrooms

Chicken stock

1 medium yellow onion

1 medium green pepper

4 cloves of garlic

1 packet of chili mix (You can make your own chili mix with cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder.)

Basil, oregano, rosemary (add your choice of herbs)

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon of sugar (I use coconut sugar)

Garlic powder and onion powder

Fresh ground pepper

Lawry’s Seasoning salt

Mrs. Dash Seasoning

Red pepper flakes

Cumin and chili powder (I love cumin, so I always add extra in addition to the chili mix.)

Worcestershire (2 to 3 teaspoons)

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Brown the ground chicken or turkey in olive oil. Add the bell pepper, onion, and chopped garlic. Season the mixture with Mrs. Dash, Lawry’s, and pepper. When the vegetables have cooked down, add the kidney beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, chili mix, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, the herbs, red pepper flakes, sugar, bay leaves, garlic powder, and onion powder. I add chicken stock instead of water to give the chili extra flavor. How much you add depends on how thick or thin you want your chili. This is also the point that I season to my taste. I add cumin and chili powder and any other seasonings I need to get the taste to my liking.

This dish can be made in 30 minutes. I made this on a Sunday so I let it simmer for two hours and it turned out amazing.

I top my classic chili with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and a drizzle of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. You can also add jalapenos and cilantro. For something different, pour your chili over a bed of brown or jasmine rice. Yummy! If you like this post, please hit the Follow button for more like it.

Stay blessed,

Barbie