Greek Style Chili with ground turkey and vegetables

On a cold, snowy day, I decided to make something that will keep us all warm.  This chili is a combination of a Greek bean soup (that is very popular in Greece, that recipe at another post) and the Mexican chili.  Greeks make their own version (shall I call it chili?) of a bean soup but they use pork pieces or just plain beans.  Since we all love chili in our family, this dish combines Greek spices, like ground cumin and ground coriander, which are also popular in Mexican cooking, along with vegetables and a better-for-your-heart version, by using ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Top it with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and you have another variation of chili.  More like Greek style chili. 

Enjoy!!!!

Greek Style Chili with ground turkey and vegetables 

Ten (10) servings of 15oz each. 

1/3 cup olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a Dutch oven pot)

¾ cup diced onion

1.5 lbs. ground turkey

1 ¾ cups diced celery

1 ½ cups diced carrots

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 14oz can tomato sauce

1 14oz water

2 tsps paprika

3 tsps chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

½ tsp coriander

1 15.5oz can of kidney beans

1 15.5oz can of red beans

1 15.5 oz can of cannellini or great northern beans

 Vegetable preparation

Prepare the vegetables by washing, cleaning and dicing the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.   Pour the olive oil in a Dutch oven.  Turn the stove on.  Saute the onions and garlic till translucent (don’t let the garlic burn).  Add the ground turkey and let it brown stirring constantly (see the picture below).  

Then add the carrots, celery, the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, coriander, and water.  Let it come to a boil stirring occasionally so that it won’t burn.  Lower the heat and simmer for ½ hour to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the veggies are soft. 

Open up the cans of beans and rinse under cold water to remove any sodium.  Add to the ground turkey/veggie pot and stir.  Heat it through, stirring constantly so that it won’t burn.  Once it comes to a full boil, turn the stove off and remove from heat. 

Serve with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, mozzarella cheese (mozzarella cheese is healthier than cheddar cheese), and some nice crusty fresh italian bread.

The nutrition facts below do not include the calories for yogurt or mozzarella. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size                                         15.62oz (442.8g)

Amount Per Serving

                        Calories                                    536

Calories from Fat                                  232

% Daily Value^*

Total Fat                                               25.8g                           40%

Saturated Fat                                       5.8g                             29%

Trans Fat                                              0.0g

Cholesterol                                           139mg                         46%

Sodium                                                 936mg                         39%

Total Carbohydrates                             28.4g                           9%

Dietary Fiber                                         9.7g                             39%

Sugars                                                 6.3g

Protein                                                 46.4g