My mom has a knack for really gross stories. She was a nurse for 30 years, and has no qualms about graphic descriptions of things one would rather not know about. Among these descriptions was her story about Chili.
According to my mom, chili came from the meat scraps left on the floor after cows were carved up. They added the chili to disguise the taste to the rotting meat, and the beans were used to make it stretch. It was primarily fed to prisoners or ranch hands. Appetizing no? Maybe not, but in keeping with the need to be frugal and efficient, here's a cheap recipe for turkey chili:
1 lb navy beans
1/2 lb pork or turkey bacon
1 lb ground turkey meat
3 table spoons California Chili
3 table spoons Chili
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1-1/2 table spoons Ground Cumin
1 -1/2 cups white wine
1 cup /can stewed tomatoes (optional)
Night Before slow cook navy beans. Be sure to rinse beans first, and sort out any bad beans. Be sure there is enough water for the beans to expand. Check the package for recommendations.
Cook chopped bacon, set aside. In a separate pan, brown turkey, add bacon and fat in the pan. Salt to taste. In a soup pot, combine meat, chili, garlic, and cumin until meat is coated. Add wine and allow it to reduce.
After wine has reduced by half add tomatoes and beans with all of the liquid. Combine, and taste for salt. Add additional wine and/or chicken stalk if additional liquid is required. Allow to simmer 20-45 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Total cost: About $9 (depending of the price of the wine)
Combine leftovers with white rice, lime and cilantro and Parmesan cheese in a tortilla for a great lunch burrito. If you wrap it with wax paper it heats up really well in a microwave.
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