Award-Winning, Hearty Turkey Chilli

No, seriously, I won an award for my Chili. 

Albeit, third, but I placed none the less. 

A little history of how this came to be about. The place I where I work was having a chili cook off to raise money. I decided to enter, but me, being the forward thinking person I am, decided I needed an angle. Something to set me apart from everyone else. 

I figured, why not make a turkey chili. That would be something that no one else would do. And in every competition, you always need an edge. That extra little thing that makes you stand out from the crowd. 

So after scouring the interwebs, mainly Pinterest, I happened upon this recipe.  Silvia from Garden to Kitchen details this tasty recipe. I of course, tweaked it a little bit, as you do.
So on to the Recipe 

Award-Winning, Hearty Turkey Chili

Crock pot portion

• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 large can Tomato Sauce
• 1 - 2 bags Black Beans
• 1 - 2 bags Kidney Beans
• 1 bag Pinto Beans

Instructions



Clean beans, and either follow the quick cook instructions or soak them over night.  If you don't want to do this step, just buy cans of beans and rinse them. 

Add the first 5 ingredients to the crock pot/ slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and turn on high.

Skillet Portion

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Med White onion
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced and crushed
• 1 lb Lean Turkey
• 1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• ½ tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Oregano
• Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, and Paprika enough to cover the meat. 
• 1 Yellow Pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 tbsp Flour

Instructions

In a large skillet heat the olive oil. Chop onions, red pepper, and garlic. (Be sure to crush the garlic to release flavor). 

Add to the skillet. Cook until soft and fragrant (3-5 mins). 

Add the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Be sure to stir and break the turkey into little chunks (about 10 minutes). 

Add the salt and spices and mix to combine (2 mins). 

Add the tomato paste, chicken broth and flour,  to create a thick and flavorful sauce. When it comes to adding the broth, if it doesn't look like there's enough, add more. If you don't the chili will dry up. 

Add the skillet content into the crock pot/ slow cooker, mix. 

4. Cover tightly and cook on high for 2h to 2½ hours.
Serve!

Details

Prep time: 4 hour Cook time: 2 hour 31 mins Total time: 6 hour 30 mins Yield: 6-8 servings


There you have it. An award winning chili. I made it a second time and gave some to friends, since nearly my entire family bailed on me when I made it the second time. No complaints there!

Enjoy!

Homemade Kombucha

One of the things I like to do when I'm being healthy is make my own Kombucha. If you don't know what that is I'll, give you a fast run down. 

You start with a SCOBY, a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria or Yeast. Pour Some tea in. Add some sugar, and then let it ferment.

Sounds kind of gross, and looks kind of gross, but I’ve actually named mine. Her name is Phillipa. (In my mind, they’re all girls, because they make babies.)

As for why it’s healthy.

Kombucha is said to be high in probiotics and vitamin B. While we can’t confirm this, as Kombucha is not FDA approved, it does make me feel better and gives me more energy.

Disclaimer: Kombucha is a fermented drink, but it is non-alcoholic depending on how long you ferment it. You can’t get drunk from it, but as they say work out your own salvation on that one.

So, you can make your own Kombucha at home. It's really easy.  

You can buy a SCOBY from the internet, or you can get a bottle of original/natural Kombucha from the store. It just takes longer if you buy it, because you have to wait for the SCOBY to get large enough to produce.

For making the Kombucha, you need to make sure everything you use is glass, metal, or wooden. Plastic is porous and the Kombucha can soak up whatever toxins the plastics has in it.

So, for the things you'll need a jar for the Kombucha.

·        SCOBY 

·        Tea—I have used both green and black tea.

·        Sugar—Organic is supposed to better, but I use regular.

·        Distilled water. 

·        Bottles—I use old Synergy Kombucha Bottles

·        Vinegar

·        Thin piece of fabric or cheese cloth.

First, wash everything with the vinegar.

Boil the distilled water. I use a metal tea kettle. You can see it in the back. 

Next, make tea. Proper way to make tea, bring it to a boil. Let it cool and then add the tea.  Add the sugar at this point too.

. 

Let the tea cool completely. 

Add it to the jar that already has the Kombucha SCOBY.

I have a siphon that I use to do it because ladling is annoying and messy. This actually goes pretty quickly with the siphon. Also, if you're pouring it in, you should move the Kombucha SCOBY. You don’t want to damage it 

Use the cheese cloth or fabric. I cut up old thread-bare pillow cases in the name of economy. This allows oxygen to get into the tea solution, but usually prevents flies from getting in.

There you can see Phillipa

The fermentation process takes roughly one week.

Also, note, that if you're making the Kombucha for the first time or it's been dormant for a long time, you'll need to make a batch and the pour it out. I know it sounds wasteful, but you have to let the SCOBY “wake up”. 

And don't ever let the tea run out so much that it doesn't cover your Kombucha. If it does, then it will shrivel and die.

At the end of a week, you can get a pH tester and test the balance. It’s should be about 3.2—2.8 for safe consumption. I did this until I felt comfortable going by taste.

If you let it ferment to long, it will turn to vinegar.  It will also turn to vinegar if the room is too hot.

Last, pour it into bottles and stick them in the fridge or the fermentation process will continue. 

You'll notice that your SCOBY replicates too. You can leave those or take them out. It's not a big deal either way. If you put them in the fridge though, the will go dormant.

And bonus info:

You can use SCOBY's in your beauty routine. It will give you a great facial exfoliation, if you want to rub it on your skin. If you’re not too emotionally attached to it, you can blend it up and add different things to make creams.

That is how you make Kombucha at home, and save yourself the $4.00 a day.