CK's Kitchen: Warm up winter with Chipotle chili

A week of bitter, below-freezing temps and a blizzard of beautiful snowfall made me not only thankful for my tall Sorel winter boots, but also feeling quite deserving of a big pot of something delicious to refuel after a couple of stints of rigorous shoveling. I only had to flip through my most recent Allrecipes magazine to find this gem: Emily's Chipotle Chili. I don't know Emily personally but I'd love to meet her. Her meaty recipe seemingly embraced both culinary genius and ingenuity with her combination of ingredients and low and slow cooking method. I was ready to shed some winter layers, dust off my Crock-Pot and do Emily proud. Totally turkey Honestly I don't buy ground beef unless I'm making hamburgers on the grill in the summertime, but my freezer always is stocked with 20-ounce packs of ground turkey. I did have to head to the grocery for a few items, including diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. After a calorie comparison, I decided to buy hot Italian turkey sausage, saving 110 calories for each of the five links in a one-pound package. Searching for ground coriander sent me to a second store, which you know is my limit when sourcing ingredients. Once the ground turkey was defrosted, I chopped half a Vidalia onion, three large cloves of garlic and four chipotle peppers — adding extra flavor at every turn. Brown before brunch A brunch date had me browning the ground turkey and turkey sausage first thing Sunday morning so I could ready myself to meet for a midday meal in Tremont. It takes about 25 minutes of prep to get this combo into the slow cooker from start to finish. I decided to cook it for eight hours then add a can of kidney beans and tomato paste for an additional hour. Finally, by 7:30 p.m. that night, dinner was ready. I had chopped up some lovely cilantro as a garnish and had to admire my bowl while it cooled. From the first spoonful, I found this chili to be spicy, smoky and full of heat. I absolutely loved it and needed no additional confirmation from others or any help in its consumption. I froze three glass containers and saved a couple of servings for leftovers. As one would expect, the chipotle chili was even better the next day. The takeaway: Make this chili regardless of the weather, but it's completely worth braving the winter cold for and every toss and shovel of snow! Contact Chrissy Kadleck at ckadleck@sbcglobal.net. Emily's Chipotle Chili 2 pounds ground beef 1 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 5 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 (28-ounce) can low-sodium diced tomatoes 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce 2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (optional) 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste Salt, to taste 1. Cook ground beef, sausage and onion in a 12-inch skillet over medium high heat until browned and crumbly, about 8 minutes. Drain, then stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. 2. Stir meat mixture, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chipotle peppers, and black pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low, eight to 10 hours. Stir in kidney beans (if using) and tomato paste 1 hour before chili is done. Season to taste with salt. Makes: 8 servings Nutrition facts: Per 1¼ cup serving: 504 calories; protein 35g; carbohydrates 27g; fat 30g; sodium 942mg. Source: Allrecipes Magazine, Feb.-March 2021