It was a tumultuous week. On Monday morning I was in class just like any normal day. But barely a week later, I found myself back home in Michigan after scrambling to pack my bags and get out of Boston after my university canceled classes for the remainder of the semester. In a matter of days, coronavirus seemed to spiral out of control, leaving much of the nation quarantined in a heightened state of consternation and uncertainty.

Luckily there is chili. The warmest, heartiest, most comforting food that wraps you up in a spicy hug and tells you that everything will be OK. It was just what I needed.

This particular iteration of chili was made without consulting any sources other than my mom, who rifled through our cabinets and produced all the necessary ingredients in a few minutes. This is not a specialty secret gourmet chili recipe and it’s not for chili purists. But it is pretty great. It’s a simple and low stress recipe that uses basic household ingredients, works with turkey, beef, or just vegetables, and can be adjusted to your desired level of spiciness. When all else fails, you can rely on this chili.

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Ingredients

• One onion
• A sweet pepper or two
• One 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• One 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 cans of beans, 16oz each (We used black beans, red kidney beans, and mixed chili beans)
• 1.5 lbs. of ground turkey (or desired meat)
• Seasoning: chili powder, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper

Steps

1. Dice the onion and peppers. Heat olive oil on medium heat in a cooking pot and then add diced onion and peppers.
2. Cook for a few minutes until onions start to become translucent and then remove the veggies from the pot.
3. Add the turkey. Brown it in the pot for a bit and then break it up and move it around to brown it on all sides. Add some seasoning to the turkey.
4. When the turkey is mostly cooked and has turned a brownish color, add the two cans of tomato followed by the three cans of beans.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously, and then turn down the heat.
6. Simmer on medium-low heat. Chili should bubble a little bit but not splatter. If it begins to roil or splatter, turn heat down further. Stir periodically and make sure the bottom isn’t burning.
7. Season to taste.
8. For best flavor, let it simmer for at least a couple of hours.

Notes and Results

• On seasoning: The key seems to be to taste, season, and repeat while the chili is simmering until you reach your desired flavor. I recommend the combination of seasonings that we used which resulted in vibrant flavor and medium spice level.
• On meat: My meat of choice is turkey, but this recipe works for ground beef as well. Beef will probably produce a richer more meaty flavor due to its higher fat content. On the other hand, if you want to go vegetarian, this recipe should do as well. I would probably include more seasoning in a vegetarian rendition of this chili to make up for the lack of meaty flavoring.
• On Health: Although chili is usually thought of as a comfort food, with turkey, beans, and veggies, this recipe is high protein and pretty lean (and also pretty economical.)
• On Storage: The ratio of ingredients listed above yields a pretty big batch. If you don’t want to eat it all now, it can be frozen and saved for later.
• On Toppings: Good with popcorn, cheese, sour cream, jalapeños, chips, whatever you want.