Black Bean Corn Chili

February 24, 2014 / No Comments

I love making big pots of hearty soups or chili, full of vegetables and beans that I divide up into serving size containers and freeze. They are always great for fast lunches, or on busy mid-week nights when you don’t think you’ll have time to make dinner. A MUCH better option than fast food! You just need to remove them from the freezer the night before you want to serve them.

This chili uses ground turkey, black beans and corn as the main ingredients although as usual I throw in onions, carrots, celery, and chili peppers. For this chili I also added one green and one red bell pepper. I love the smokey flavor of chipotle chilies, so I use both canned chipotle in adobe as well as some dried ground chipotle chili pepper. As with any chili, you can adjust it as you prefer, using pinto beans in place of black beans, ground chicken or beef in place of the turkey, or eliminating any of the vegetables I used. The fun part of serving chili for me is the garnish, and I often use guacamole cream, fat free Greek yogurt, shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, or diced green onions. Feel free to use your garnish of choice! To make the guacamole cream, place 1 cup of freshly cut and diced avocado in a blender with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.

Why Healthy

The high quantity of both protein and fiber in black beans help to move food through the stomach to the large intestine at a healthier pace supporting a healthy digestive system. The high fiber content also helps to curb hunger cravings. Black beans have the highest levels of antioxidants of all of the common beans tested, as much as the antioxidant-rich cranberry. Black beans are one of the best sources around for the trace mineral molybdenum which serves the useful purpose of breaking down the sulfites found in foods which some people are sensitive to. Black beans are also a good source of the minerals magnesium which helps to maintain a healthy blood pressure, iron to help maintain healthy red blood cells, and Folate, or vitamin B6, which is very important to pregnant women in particular.
Ground turkey is a lean source of protein.

Black Bean Corn Chili

Yield: Serves 8

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: About 1 hr

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, Peeled & Diced
2 Carrots, Peeled & Diced
2 Celery Stalks, Diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, Cored & Diced
1 Green Red Pepper, Cored & Diced
3 Garlic cloves, Peeled & Minced
1 Pound Ground Turkey Meat
1 (15 Ounce) Can Black Beans
2 (14 Ounce) Cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes
2 Cups Frozen Corn
2 Canned Chipotle Chilies With 2 Tablespoons Sauce, Finely Diced
2 Teaspoons Ground Chipotle Chili Powder
Salt & Pepper To Taste
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 Cup Ground Cornmeal
Garnish of Choice

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat, then add the onions, carrots, celery, and red and green peppers.
Sauté, stirring often for about 4 minutes or until the vegetables just begin to soften.
Add the garlic and turkey meat, and continue to cook and stir for about 8 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink.
Add the beans, tomatoes, corn, canned chipotle chilies, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to mix well.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook the chili for 20 minutes.
Stir in the ground cornmeal and continue to cook 25 to 30 minutes, or until thickened.
Serve hot with garnish of choice.