Dinner Tonight: Black Bean-Salsa Chili

We were still in a football frame of mind today. We recorded the games to get a jump on the time outs and commercials, and spent the lead time playing Wii Family Feud and then the boys played some Mario Party. So, it wasn't until about 3:00 that we started the Ravens vs. Patriots game. I was energized by the Raven's play. As I was watching, I recorded last night's nacho recipe into one of my binders. One step closer to completing New Year's Resolutions: Part 1!

Then it was time to start cooking! It has been so cold here, by Charlotte standards, so a nice pot of Chili was needed. Black Bean-Salsa Chili seemed like a perfect candidate, low cal and full of delicious ingredients. As an accompaniment, I found Miniature Corn Muffins. The corn muffin recipe was from a magazine, All You, which is apparently a money saving missive. It claims the muffins have a cost per serving of 12¢. I have never heard of this publication, but my husband is now pressuring me to subscribe.

The chili preparation was interesting compared to past experiences. You puree half of the black beans and keep the other half whole. Only half a pound of ground turkey is used, but it is enough. The whole beans and vegetables provide plenty of texture. The finishing touch is a mixture of chopped cilantro, lime juice, and light sour cream. This is a delicious concoction that would be a perfect topping for any Chili. We added chopped avocado because we had some left over from Nacho's last night. Good addition!

The result was a wonderfully flavorful chili. To me the cumin stood out. The corn muffins were nice, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Sous Chef was tasked with the muffin preparation and forgot to add a half a cup of pepper jack. It was not missed, and again saved calories. They turned out to be a fine companion to the Chili. Just ask my kids. It seemed that all my youngest ate was the muffins and my oldest loved dipping the muffins into the chili like so:

Thankfully the boys recovered from the spicy torment they suffered last night with the nachos, and were able to trust me enough to try the chili.

The adults endorse it heartily!