White Turkey Chili & Favorite Roast Chicken

If I can make 2 or 3 home cooked dinners in a week, I’m happy.  I’ve actually felt pretty good about this lately.  Usually one of these meals takes a while, so I save those for Sundays or another night during the week where I know I’ll be home at a good time and have nothing else planned.

About a month ago I picked up a whole chicken at Whole Foods when they were on sale.  At the time I was in no mood for roast chicken with all the turkey we’d been eating during the holiday season but I knew it would be good to have in the freezer.

Well I was finally in the mood for roast chicken!

I’ve tried a few different recipes, but I have to say the most simple and MOST delicious is Thomas Keller’s method!  I’ve always put butter or olive oil on my chicken’s skin but Keller just adds salt and pepper to a dried off chicken and that’s it!

But seriously the skin gets SO crisp and the meat is so moist and flavorful!  I highly recommend you try this out sometime!  So easy!  Plus it roasts at a higher temp which takes less time…win win!

Note: I tie up the bird to truss the legs, but I don’t remove the wish bone beforehand…if you know how, go for it. 

For our chicken dinner, I also threw 2 sweet potatoes right in the oven with the chicken to bake. 

Meanwhile I sautéed some Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, pepper, and stirred in a little Dijon mustard at the end.

Nice rounded meal and tasted delicious too. 

Ok enough about the chicken (I just wanted to tell you guys about that recipe!), what I really wanted to share was the chili recipe!!

My best friend, Jocy, came up with a white turkey chili one day and it became a favorite of her family and friends :)  Since, you know, I got married and moved in with Brian, it’s been a while since I’ve had the chili!

She emailed me the basic recipe, and I tweaked it ever so slightly :)

J’s White Turkey & Bean Chili
4-6 servings

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeños, diced
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 2 cups chicken or turkey broth
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 10-12 shakes tobasco sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2T half & half
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar or other Mexican cheese, plus more for toppings
• sour cream
• cilantro
• tortilla chips
• avocado

In a large heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over med heat.  Add onion, garlic, and jalapeños.  Sauté for 4-5 minutes until onions start to soften.  Add turkey and continue cooking until mostly cooked through.  Add broth, beans, and spices.  Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 min partially covered. 

Now take a potato masher and mash the chili until the beans are partially mashed.  Don’t worry you’re not making everything mushy, but breaking down the beans a little bit will add creaminess without adding cream!

But I still added a couple Tablespoons of half & half for some extra creaminess, along with the cheese.  Add the cream and cheese and stir until the cheese is all melted. 

Time to dig in!!

Top with sour cream, chopped cilantro, more cheese, and tortilla chips for dipping!

Add more tobasco sauce if you’d like as well. 

This was warm, creamy, and filling!  It was also still chunky enough to scoop up with some blue corn tortilla chips!  At this point I remembered the avocado..delicious on top as well. 

This chili also came together pretty fast!  Brian helped chop the onion, garlic, and jalapeños while I was at Crossfit then I cooked it up when I got home!  Only took about 25 min to get dinner on the table :)

So glad this week is half over!!  What’s been your favorite meal this week??