Mom's Turkey Chili

My two favorite dishes my mom would make during the fall & winter months is chicken stew and turkey chili.  Like the stew (which I already made and will be doing so again soon) most of the work is done while the chili is cooking on the stove. Also, it freezes really well for a few months.


Ingredients:
1 - 1 1/2 lb ground turkey breast
1  green pepper, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1teaspoon flour
2 cans of red kidney beans (19oz each, drain a little of the excess juice)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 quart tomato juice
1 cup water

Chili paste:
    2 teaspoons chili powder
    1 teaspoon flour
    1/4 cup water
    salt and pepper as desired


Directions:

1. Put a little butter/cooking spray inside pot and brown turkey slightly. 
2. Sprinkle teaspoon of flour, add onions until transparent, then add peppers until somewhat soft (about 15-20 minutes). 
3. Add brown sugar, tomato juice, beans and water. 
4. In a small bowl mix chili powder, flour and water (can add a little cayenne for a kick). Stir well to blend.
5. Add chili paste little by little, stir well and let the the chili start to bubble.  Cover loosely and cook slowly on the stove for 2 hours.  If the chili is think, uncover pot and allow it to cook down. 
6. Serve with fresh french bread or favorite cracker.

Finely chopped peppers and onions and the chili paste 

Chili reduced about an inch over 2 hours

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes approximately 2 dozen large cookies

When I went shopping for the Cranberry Hootycreek Cookie ingredients, my only option for the rolled oats was a 2 lb package.  Since those cookies only call for 1 cup - I had a lot of oats left over so I decided to make oatmeal raisin cookies.  

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened 

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

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