In Food

My Go-To Winter Recipes

My favorite things to cook when the weather turns cold are soups and a hearty chili. My favorite Turkey Chili recipe has evolved over the years and is a mix of my favorite parts of different recipes. This Turkey Chili is a family favorite, so easy to make, and is great leftover!

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground turkey breast
2 cans of classic Rotel tomatoes
1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed
1 whole medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4-1/3 cup of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
for garnish: cilantro, sour cream, grated cheese

Method:

In a large pot or dutch oven, set at medium high heat, add two tablespoons of olive oil and brown your turkey meat, crumbling it as it browns.
Add diced onion and minced garlic. Cook it 3-4 minutes until onions are translucent.
Add all the spices and mix well.
Add your Rotel tomatoes, kidney beans, and tomato sauce, heat until it’s nice, hot, and bubbly. Then set burner to simmer. Cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. While it’s simmering, have a quick taste and check your seasonings.
Then serve with garnishes and enjoy!

For the winter soups, I start with Rachel Ray’s Curried Carrot Soup Recipe (Don’t judge me, some of her recipes are good!). Over the years I have learned that when I want to switch it up, this recipe works with other vegetables like Broccoli and Cauliflower. My family loves it!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
8-10 full sized carrots, peeled
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon mild curry paste or 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Coarse salt

Method:

Preheat medium pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil, butter, onions and carrots and saute 5 minutes.
Add 4 cups chicken stock, curry and cayenne, and about 1 teaspoon salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and cook until carrots are very tender (about 15 minutes).
Use a food processor & process soup in 2 or 3 small batches until soup is smooth and carrots are fully pureed. Time out! I use a Cuisinart Immersion Blender for this instead of processing in batches. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend getting one. I use mine all the time and LOVE it.
Once soup is processed, place back over low heat. If soup is too thick, add remaining stock (up to 2 cups) to achieve desired consistency. Enjoy!

So, I replace the carrots with broccoli for a delicious Curried Broccoli Soup and follow the same recipe using one large head of broccoli or two small heads.

For the Cauliflower soup, I remove the carrots from the original recipe and add one small head of cauliflower and two red potatoes, peeled, for a Creamy Curried Cauliflower and Potato Soup!!