QUICK TURKEY GREEN CHILI plus QUICK VEGETARIAN SWEET POTATO GREEN CHILI

Are you feeling like you’re having déjà vu?  Like you’ve seen these chilies before, right here in fact?  And there was a meat version and a veggie version version.  Was it a dream?

It wasn’t a dream.

Well this is almost the same…but it’s different.  The White bean chili recipes that you are thinking of take a good long time to make; you’ve got to soak the beans overnight, and then it takes a couple of hours to cook.  And it’s totally worth the time and the effort!

Fact is that when you get a hankering for chili, unless that hankering started the night before, you don’t have beans soaking.  

Fact is that when you get a hankering for chili, and dinner needs to be on the table in less than an hour, you don’t have hours for simmering. 

Enter Quick Green Chili!  It can be made with turkey, chicken, or pork, or even vegetarian.  

Quick Green Chili uses canned beans.  

Jarred tomatillo salsa is added because the tomatillos and green chilies in the salsa are roasted and charred and adds tons of flavors to the chili.  

A sweet potato makes the chili special; I prefer a white sweet potato because it’s a bit less sweet and has a bit more starch than the orange sweet potato.  The orange sweet potato is actually a yam, but we don’t really distinguish the difference in this country.  If you don’t have a white sweet potato, a yam will still be really good!

Quick Green Chili is made in a skillet for quicker evaporation, which means that the liquids reduce faster and the flavors are intensified getting that simmered for hours flavor in about 20 minutes.

   

For Quick Turkey Green Chili a blend of ground turkey and turkey sausage gives a more interesting flavor. 

For Vegetarian Sweet Potato Green Chili, there is twice the amount of sweet potatoes used, and also zucchini, cuz I just love zucchini in veggie chili. 

Now if you want, you can double the batch chili and then put some in the freezer for another day, and make life even easier on yourself.

Fact is that you’re going to want to have leftovers to make this salad; so that you can eat Quick Green Chili for two nights in a row and you’re family will feel like it’s a totally different meal.

QUICK TURKEY GREEN CHILI

Serves 4

½                           Medium onion, small dice

2              cloves      Garlic, minced

1              tsp.         Olive oil

1              lb.           Ground turkey, chicken, or pork

½             lb.           Sweet Italian sausage, turkey or pork, removed from its casing

                              Salt & pepper

½                           Green bell pepper, small dice

1              cup          Sweet potato diced small, about ½ large sweet potato, preferably a white sweet potato

2 ½          tsp.         Ground cumin

1              tsp.         Dried Mexican oregano

½             tsp.         Italian seasoning

1 ½          cups        Chicken stock, no salt added or low-sodium

1              cup         Tomatillo salsa,

2-15          oz. cans   Beans, such as pinto or cannellini beans, drained

1              Tbsp.       Masa or fine cornmeal (optional)

2              Tbsp.       Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)

1.  Add the onions, garlic and olive oil to a large skillet, cook over medium-high just until the onions soften.  Crumble the ground turkey (chicken or pork) as well as the sausage into the skillet, season with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper, cook and stir until the meat is browned.  

2.  Stir into the browned meat, the green bell pepper, sweet potato, cumin, oregano; cook stirring for about a minute, just to toast the spices.

3.  Pour the chicken stock, tomatillo salsa, beans, and masa (or fine corn meal) into the skillet; season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down between medium and medium-low heat, and continue to simmer, until the sweet potatoes have softened, 15 to 20 minutes. 

4.  Stir the cilantro in at the end of cooking, and serve in bowls.

QUICK VEGETARIAN SWEET POTATO GREEN CHILI

Serves 4

½                           Medium onion, small dice

2              cloves      Garlic, minced

1              tsp.         Olive oil

1                            Green bell pepper, small dice

2              cups        Sweet potato, small dice, preferably white sweet potato, about 1 large sweet potato

1 ½          tsp.         Ground cumin

½             tsp.         Mexican oregano

½             tsp.         Italian seasoning

                             Salt & pepper

1 ½          cups        Vegetable stock, low sodium or un-salted

1              cup         Tomatillo salsa

2              cups        Zucchini, large dice, about 2 medium zucchinis

2-15          oz. cans   Beans, such as pinto or cannellini beans, drained

1              Tbsp.       Masa or fine cornmeal (optional)

2              Tbsp.       Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)

1.  Add the onions, garlic, and olive oil to a large skillet, cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  When the onions are soft stir in the bell pepper, sweet potato, cumin, oregano, Italian seasoning, and a couple of pinches of salt & pepper; cook stirring for about a minute, just to toast the spices.

2.   Add the vegetable stock, tomatillo salsa, zucchini, beans, and masa (or cornmeal).  Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down between medium and medium-low and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft, 15 to 20 minutes.

3.  Lastly stir in the cilantro and serve in bowls.

You may also like:

Turkey White Bean Chili

Quick Chili

Red Bean Casserole

Chili Taco Salad