Turkey Bison Chili with Quinoa

Let's try this again, the first time I wrote this it got deleted.  Awesome. 

So it's been a little extra chili lately here in good ol Michigan.  Chilly weather screams soup and chili to me, last week was soup and this week it is chili!

I usually do chili in the crock pot because it's a nice even temperature and I don't have to worry about it burning. In this house we have a gas stove and that will go low enough that I don't worry about it burning. Our last apartment had an electric stove and they have a mind of their own. I would never do this on an electric stove.  With the kids going to bed super late last night and sleeping terribly, the day got away from me, I did this on the stove today. 

The original recipe I found here at Nancy Creative .  It sounded delicious the way it was but we tweaked it, of course. :)

We have been trying to eat healthier. Leaner meats, less fat, more protein, stuff like that. We used turkey and bison instead of the beef.  I left out the oregano mostly because I didn't have any, I'm sure it would be delicious in there though. The big thing I did was add the quinoa.  With as much good stuff it has going for it, how could I not. We love quinoa over here! 

Here's my recipe:

1.25 lbs ground turkey
1 lb ground bison
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups vegetable juice
1 tablespoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup beef broth
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes

Brown the meats in a large pot.  Drain and rinse. Return to pot, all the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil the reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for at least an hour. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, on a baked potato or any other way you like to eat chili.  

This is what it looks like right after I added all the ingredients. 

And this is what it looked like after and put 1.5 hours of simmering. You see the little curly Qs? That's the cooked quinoa. That's when you know quinoa is done.

I suggest having this chili on top of a baked potato with the spoon bread.  YUM!!! 

We had it with This Spoon Bread. We have angel food cake with berries for desert. I also made some monster cookie dough because I just wanted cookie dough. I'm weird like that. It might get baked tomorrow or I might leave it in the fridge and eat it all. There's really no telling with me  :) 

That's all for now. See you next time y'all.