WOW…it has been a long couple of days. But I did it! I pulled Thanksgiving off!!! After a week of menu planning and 2 days of cooking, I can honestly say…I am exhausted lol. If i never have to look at a kitchen again it will be too soon. And yes, I am aware that I run a food blog and that will be potentially problematic…but I am sure I will change my mind tomorrow.
If you are anything like me, you hate wasting food. Especially leftovers. And yikes are there a lot of leftovers with Thanksgiving.
One of the hardest things I find to use up after Thanksgiving is the leftover meat. Whether it is turkey or ham (yes, I cooked both this year…now do you understand why I am sick of my kitchen?!?!) trying to figure out what to do with it always poses a challenge. Also, I know we all love Thanksgiving food…but after eating plain old Thanksgiving leftovers don’t we all get a little sick of it after a while? I feel ya.
So when using up my Thanksgiving leftovers, I try to put them in non-Thanksgiving dishes. It provides a little variety, which makes it more likely they will get eaten!
This year I opted to make turkey chili. For one reason, because it is easy. I just dumped a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker and went back to watching movies on the couch. Another reason I made chili is that I knew it would freeze well. Which is a bonus when you are trying to eat your way through an entire fridge of leftovers. Can you tell this stresses me out? I mean how am I going to eat ll this stuff?!?!
Okay, back to the chili.
It turned out to be exactly what I wanted. The leftover turkey worked perfectly. The chili powder and cayenne gave it just the right amount of heat without being overpowering. It was warm and satisfying and exactly what I wanted on this cold day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Local Ingredient: Turkey (purchased a fresh turkey from a local turkey farm)
Ingredients
4 cups cooked turkey (shredded or ground)
1 onion, diced
30 oz kidney beans
15 oz pinto beans
28 oz crushed tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Stir.
- Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Garnish with green onions. Top with sour cream or cheese if desired.
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