Pumpkin Turkey Chili

It's the time of year that soup recipes and pumpkin recipes start showing up all over blogs. I recently saw a recipe for pumpkin chili, and I have to admit that I was skeptical about the recipe at first. I couldn't imagine putting pumpkin into my chili. I read the blog post and found out that the pumpkin puree acted more like a thickener instead of a flavor ingredient. A bit relieved, I decided to give this a try. I'm all about a good crockpot recipe, so I dumped all of the ingredients in one morning before work and instructed my lovely man to give it a stir every 2-3 hours. I came home to a wonderful smelling house and a delicious meal. It makes a lot of chili, but it freezes well if you want to go that route.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili


Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 pound ground turkey
Salt and pepper, to season meat
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (I used Lowery's seasoned salt)
4 ounce can diced jalapenos
3 cups beef broth
1 (15-oz) can red kidney beans, rinsed
1 (15-oz) can black beans, rinsed
1 can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2 (14.5-oz) cans petite diced tomatoes with juice
Toppings for garnish (I used Pepper Jack cheese, plain Greek yogurt, and sliced jalapenos)


Directions:
Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large heavy frying pan, add ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the turkey is cooked throughout. Add cooked turkey to the crockpot.

Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to the frying pan .Add diced onion and greed bell pepper and cook about 3 minutes, until the onion and pepper is just starting to soften. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, seasoned salt, and diced jalapenos. Saute a couple of minutes more. Put the onion mixture into the crockpot, then deglaze the pan with the beef broth and add that to the crockpot.

While the onions and peppers are cooking, drain the beans into a colander placed in the sink, and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears. Add beans to the crockpot. Add canned pumpkin and diced tomatoes (with juice).

Stir the mixture to combine ingredients, then cook on high for 4-6 hours (or on low for 8-10 hours), stirring a few times if you're home.

Serve hot, topped with your desired toppings.

Source: adapted from Kalyin's Kitchen