Slow Cooker Black Bean Pumpkin Turkey Chili

Slow Cooker Black Bean Pumpkin Turkey Chili

I have been in a "soup mood" for the better part of two months now but it is finally officially soup weather in Colorado!  Earlier this week, it was 84 degrees Fahrenheit when I went for a bike ride; this, when I went for a walk with the dogs, it was 24 degrees.  Yep, soup weather!  Some areas of Colorado did get some snow this week but we haven't seen any white stuff yet, unless you count the super heavy frost on the roof tops.

This week I tried two new pumpkin recipes.  For breakfast, I have been having Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal (see LINK HERE).  The other recipe is this slow cooker turkey chili.  Both recipes call for an entire can of pumpkin.  I love that so that I am not searching for recipes to use up the leftovers.

This recipe comes from a blog called Ambitious Kitchen (www.ambitiouskitchen.com). 

I love the addition of some unusual ingredients in this chili, which makes this a very nice change of pace.  I altered the recipe just a tad.  I did not use any oil when browning the ground turkey.  Also, the original recipe recommended cooking the onions and jalapeno pepper before adding them to the slow cooker, but I just threw them in the slow cooker raw (which was even easier!).  For my chili, I used an extra large jalapeno for added spice.  Both of the pumpkin recipes I made this week are definitely recipes I will make again!

SLOW COOKER BLACK BEAN PUMPKIN TURKEY CHILI

Adapted from www.ambitiouskitchen.com

Original recipe: http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2016/10/slow-cooker-black-bean-pumpkin-turkey-chili/

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean or extra lean ground turkey, cooked/browned/crumbled
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes (preferably no salt added)
• 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (or 1 3/4 cup fresh pumpkin puree)
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Instructions

1. Cook/brown/crumble ground turkey in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat, until no pink remains.
2. Add cooked turkey and remaining ingredients to the slow cooker; stir well, cover, and cook on low 6-7 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high.
3. If desired, garnish each bowl with sour cream, Greek yogurt, fresh cilantro, cheddar cheese, or any other desired toppings (I used none of the garnishes but they all would be great!)

I portioned my soup into 6 small containers and have been enjoying it all week long.

Happy Fall!