Reminder: Always Read the Instructions First!

Can I say how jealous I am that other bloggers are posting pics of themselves wearing long sleeves, sweaters and scarves? It's still so hot in Houston! Not miserable-hot, just uncomfortably-damp-hot. I know I shouldn't complain, the worst is over, but I'm so ready to join the aforementioned bloggers with their winter wear! Or fall wear, whatever. I love cool morning, gusty breezes and coming home to warm food. Like chili! I though I'd test out Paula Deen's recipe for Jaime's Chili in preparation for cooler weather.

In looking over her recipe, I noticed it included a huge amount of tomatoes and beans. It had a grand total of 84 ounces of tomato products (over 10 cups!) and 42 ounces of beans (a little over 5 cups). Granted her recipe serves 8-10, I decided instead of subbing items like we normally do, I'd do a little bit of eliminating to lower the calories.

I eliminated an entire can of beans, cut the stewed tomatoes (honestly, I just don't like big, oozy chunks of tomatoes in my chilies and soups so I was happy to get rid of it). I also chose 93% lean ground turkey instead of Paula's beef/sausage mix. The recipe says add chili powder and cumin "to taste" and I ended up not using it because I don't trust myself enough to add spices "to taste." I think I'd over/under add and the final product would come out terrible. I tested out a reduced sodium version of chili seasoning, but forgot to keep the package for menu calculation purposes. And I didn't think to Google it, so I just calculated both recipes with the same seasoning. Sorry, folks!

I chopped and I browned and got everything in the same pot. Once it was ready to simmer, I skimmed to the bottom of the page. Yikes! It said to let the pot simmer for 4 hours! 4 hours! It was already 5:45 and there was no way I was waiting until almost 10 pm to eat! So I let it simmer for 2 1/2 hours while Cody and I dined on some frozen entrees. Yum.

Before I went to bed, I poured it into some Tupperware and vowed to read my recipes more carefully next time.

I finally got to test it out, 2 days later! Better late than never, right?

And it was good! Not the world's greatest chili, but definitely worth my efforts.

Here are the stats, not including any toppings or garnishes, only the changes I mentioned above:

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 10	Servings Per Recipe: 10
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 346	Calories: 207
Fat: 11.4 g	Fat: 3.6 g
Sodium: 872 mg	Sodium: 660 mg
Fiber: 14.5 g	Fiber: 10.3 g

And the recipe, if you have 4 hours to wait for chili!

Sittin' Around Chili

1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 c celery, diced
2 (28 ox) diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 package chili seasoning mix

In a large pot, brown the ground turkey and drain any fat. Add the onion, green pepper and celery and saute for ~4-5 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes, and cook for another 10 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Add the beans and chili seasoning. Cover partially and let simmer for 4 hours.