So this recipe in it's original form came from Cooking Light as Poblano Turkey Sausage Chili and it was designed to be on the spicy side. However, I was making it for my BFF who needed some comfort food and she can't handle spice in any shape or form. And on top of that I went to Trader Joe's to get the ingredients and they had chicken sausage instead of turkey so I went with it. Oh wait there is more...I didn't buy enough diced tomatoes, but I had crushed tomatoes so I made up the difference with crushed tomatoes and chicken broth. So pretty much by the time I got done with it...well it was pretty different...but just as tasty.



This recipe had a combination of black beans and pinto beans and I loved the combination and the diversity of flavors.

 I enjoyed the texture contrast between the two types of tomatoes and the chicken sausage was really good. This chili had a lot of flavor, even devoid of the spice, as I used sweet onions which gave the chili a slightly caramelized onion flavor and I still used the cumin and a mild amount of chili powder. I also enjoyed the added crunch and flavor kick from the fresh poblanos. This chili would be amazing with an ice cold beer...but I didn't have any so I drank water...refreshing...just not as exciting!

So here is the recipe the way I made it and if you want the original recipe here is the link:http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/poblano-turkey-sausage-chili-50400000123569/


2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup prechopped onion
(I interpreted prechopped to mean that I chopped them ahead of time, but they could mean that you should buy the already chopped onions. However, I figured I could suck it up and chop them myself)
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
8 ounces sweet chicken Italian sausage
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 poblano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons no-salt-added chicken stock (such as Swanson), divided
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

** I added salt as I do to all Cooking Light recipes because it should be titled Cooking w/out Salt instead of Cooking Light and well I love salt **

Preparation

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 4 minutes or until browned. Remove casings from sausage; add sausage to pan and cook until sausage is browned and crumbled. Stir in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and poblanos; cook 4 minutes or until you have drained all of the beans and lolly gagged around the kitchen a bit.


2. Add 1 1/2 cups stock, tomatoes (both types), and beans. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until slightly thickened. Combine flour and the remaining 2 tablespoons stock in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk to form a slurry. Add slurry to chili, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened.

This is truly perfect comfort food, especially for those parts of the country in which it is actually cold. Thanks to the International Chili Society I learned a few random facts about chili that I thought I would share with you. Did you know?


Fact: Chile peppers were used in Cervantes's Spain and show up in great ancient cuisines of China, India, Indonesia, Italy, the Caribbean, France, and the Arab states.

Fact: Don Juan de Onate entered what is now New Mexico in 1598 and brought with him the green chile pepper. It has grown there for the nearly four hundred years since.

Fact: Canary Islanders, transplanted in San Antonio as early as 1723, used local peppers, wild onions, garlic, and other spices to concoct pungent meat dishes - improvising upon ones they had cooked for generations in their native land, where the chile pepper also grew.

Ok sure I am guessing back in the day that didn't saddle their horse up to the neighborhood Trader Joe's to get some chicken sausage, but hey it is 2014 we have to adapt and conquer, right? Cheers!