Recipe Wednesday - Chili

I made this chili up the other day in the crock pot.   I couldn't find a recipe with the specific ingredients I had on hand, so I sorta tried it on my own.  (I already had my ground turkey crumbled and cooked, something I had done a few days beforehand.) 


Ingredients
2-3 Tbs. canola oil
1/2 Tbs. mustard seed (optional) 
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbs. coconut oil 
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. cumin
2 Tbs. chili powder
2.5 lbs ground turkey
3 cans (14.5 oz. ea) diced tomatoes
3 cans water
2.5 cups of dried black beans*- rinsed, drained (I used the whole bag, 16 oz)
2 cups dried pinto beans* - rinsed, drained

*I did not soak the beans

Plug in your crock pot and turn to high.  Pour in the diced tomatoes and water (and ground meat if you already have it cooked).  In a skillet, heat the canola oil then add mustard seed, if using.  Once the seeds pop, add in the chopped onion and cook until tender.  Push the onion to the outer edges and pour the coconut oil into the empty space.  Add in the garlic and cook for about a minute or less.  Stir in your salt, cumin and chili powder.  (If your meat isn't cooked, now would be a good time to add it - hopefully you've chosen a lean meat so you won't have extra grease.  When we brown our turkey, we never have to pour off grease.)  Add onion mixture  to the crock pot, as well as the beans.  Cook on high for about 3 hours, then switch to medium for about 2 hours.
The dried beans will soak up a lot of liquid.  We ended up with a very thick chili that barely had any liquid.  (Biju actually liked it better this way.)
Also, our chili was to the brim of the crock pot by the time the beans had soaked up all the liquid.  If you would like, you can reduce your beans and/or increase your liquid to reach the consistency you prefer.
Goes really well with a dollop of sour cream (or yogurt) and a sprinkle of shredded cheese, perhaps some cornbread or crackers.  Yum yum!  Biju topped his with buffalo sauce and chopped (raw) red onion.