Beans Beans the musical fruit

Conversations with my husband

Me: Cooking makes me so nervous, I need to keep practicing.
Husband: Cooking isn’t hard, you just need to keep at it.
Me: I love my mom’s cooking; I want my kids to think I’m a good cook.
Husband: They will. All kids love their mother’s cooking.
Me: How do you know?
Husband: Because in high school I had a friend who loved his mothers cooking.
Me: So?
Husband: …then I ate at their house. Worst food imaginable. So like I said, everyone thinks their mothers' cooking is amazing.
Me: Thanks for the vote of confidence.

So, many of you know I’m working on my cooking skills and I am always interested in new (easy) things to make. I found a recipe for Black Bean Chili online and made it for dinner last night – it was GREAT. It was thick and full of flavor – perfect for a fall evening or tailgate party!

I served it with Fritos but you could class it up a bit and serve topped with cilantro and a side of whole wheat toasted pita.

It makes a LOT so after dishing out leftovers for lunches I froze the rest. Husband had two bowls and tried to eat half of mine!

DISCLAIMER: In our house, black beans and ground turkey make for a gas-tastic night. Serve with a side of gas-X

Fantastic Black Bean Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, undrained
1 can or frozen corn
Sprinkle of cumin to ground turkey
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 small can of green chilies (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat; cook onion and garlic until onions are translucent.
2. Add turkey and sprinkle with cumin, stirring, until meat is brown.
3. Stir in beans, corn, tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, basil and vinegar.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 60 minutes or more, until flavors are well blended.