November Chili

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we either have absolutely glorious Novembers, full of crisp mornings and flaming yellow leaves, or we have dreary, sodden, dripping days of rain. Apparently, this year it's our turn to have a dreary November, and there is nothing better to ward off those days than slow-cooked chili. This recipe is adapted from one off of allrecipes.com.

1/2 bag of mixed dried beans from the back of the cupboard
2 cans of low-sodium black beans
2 cans of organic tomato soup
6 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 medium sweet onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb low-fat ground turkey, cooked
2 Tlbs ish of chili powder
1 Tlbs basil
1 Tlbs oregano
2 Tlbs red wine vinegar

Soak the dried beans overnight, covering them in at least an inch of water.

In a large pot, combine all the ingredients. Add more chili powder if you want it to be more intense. Bring it to a boil over medium or medium-low heat, then turn down to low and simmer for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

This recipe is infinitely malleable. I also call it "end-of-the-month-chili" since you can throw leftovers in there too - like rice, peas, broccoli, whatever. The original recipe called for 1 can of crushed tomatoes, but I just got regular tomatoes instead, and added the tomato soup since I happened to have it on hand and wanted to adjust the consistency of the soup.

Rating: 5/5
Why? There is nothing better than opening the door to the smell of chili after a long, cold day. This recipe is amazing, and the red wine vinegar totally makes it. I also recommend replacing the red wine vinegar with cider vinegar, as that tastes pretty good too!