Road Trip Day 1 + Quick Turkey Black Bean Chili Recipe

Happy Trails from the road.  I’m traveling to Fort Collins to deliver a horse with my boyfriend to his daughter (whom I’m meeting for the first time), and then off to national parks and other great adventures.  The summer heat is still in deep existence during the month of August, so we decided to head through Arizona, instead of Nevada — just to shave off a few degrees for the pony.

We have the luxury of borrowing an RV from our good friend Ryan, which is now loaded with almost all food related accouterment as well as clothes for days ahead. I am a cook, baker, and a blogger at heart, so over packing food necessities is in my blood. Our first stop will be Kingman Arizona – a place I’ve never actually stayed.  I bought my ground turkey at Motley Crew Marketplace in Buellton and prepared a big batch layered in black beans and dried spices.

When making Black Bean Turkey Chili, good dark meat turkey, chili powder, and a dash or two of cayenne pepper is necessary to achieve a good balance, especially since turkey is a fairly neutral meat. I made a big pot of Quick Turkey Black Bean Chili before we left and my plan is to enjoy it once we arrive and get the horse settled in his stall.

Canned black beans makes life easy and if you want some additional heat, some varieties have jalapenos added, which I recommend. I’ll warm the chili once we arrive at the horse motel — an experience I will report about tomorrow.

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Ingredients

• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey, dark meat preferably
• 28 ounces canned black beans (see above)
• 14 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
• olive oil for cooking

(Serves 4)

To Prepare:

1. In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, add olive oil and place over medium heat.
2. Add onion and stir.  Cook for 3 minutes, then add garlic, stir.  Continue to cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add spices and stir.  Cook for 1 minute and add ground turkey.
4. Using a spoon, break turkey apart, while stirring.  Using back of spoon helps infuse spices into turkey meat.
5. Add black beans and tomatoes, stir.  Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature and ladle into a storage container to enjoy later.

As we drove from Santa Ynez Valley to Adelanto to grab a cold drink — then towards Barstow — where the heat never disappoints — I began to relax and enjoy the road ahead.  Four hours to Kingman, and our horse motel awaits for the three of us.  Stay tuned!