What’s the first soup you make in the cool weather season?
Some years I go with Zuppa Toscana, sometimes creamy tortellini. In 2022, I went with Chili.
The beauty of chili is you don’t need a recipe. I had recently read a recipe that included maple syrup and dark chocolate powder. I know other people put bittersweet chocolate in their chili, but I haven’t actually tried that. So, I decided to try it out tonight.
Ingredients:
- Avocado Oil
- 1# Ground Turkey
- Half White Onion
- 2 Poblano Peppers
- Spice Mix
- 4 Tomatoes (not Roma)
- 1can of Black Beans
- 1can of Kidney Beans
- 1can of Navy Beans
- 1.5T Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1T Maple Syrup
Spice Mix Ingredients:
- Pink Himalayan Salt
- Cumin
- Smoked Paprika
- Cinnamon
- Tumeric
- Ground Peppercorns
- Cayenne
I didn’t actually measure these out, just went with what felt right. I love cumin and usually use more of that than other spices. The paprika was the next largest amount. Cinnamon and pepper were the two smaller amounts.
Steps:
- Brown the ground turkey in the avocado oil as you dice the half onion.
- Add the onion to the ground turkey.
- Dice the poblano peppers and add to the pot.
- Add the spice mix and stir well, making sure all the turkey is covered. Don’t worry if it looks a little yellow; that’s the tumeric.
- Dice and add the tomatoes to the pot.
- Stir stir stir.
- Add all the beans and stir some more.
- Add the cocoa and maple syrup.
- Stir again.
- Turn the heat down to a simmer and let it simmer 10-15min.
- Stir before serving.
That gave me enough for supper tonight, 2 bowls in the fridge for later this week, and 3 servings in teh freezer for a night when I don’t have the time or desire to cook or the budget is tight.

What I want to do differently next time: not used beans in an aluminum can. Either their beans I (or my mama) canned ourselves or beans I’ve soaked overnight.
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