Turkey Chili and Gorilla Bread

Despite my ode to improving dietary intake a couple of posts ago, K and I find ourselves still gravitating to a mix of the healthy and the hearty. In the midst of multiple snowstorms, we were craving some spicy chili so Keith whipped up a batch with ground turkey to lighten it up a bit. Of course, the lightness was offset a bit by a dollop of light sour cream and a handful of Frito's to top it off, but I digress....

We also made a dessert to try out for a future brunch and that was a recipe from the Paula Deen and Friends cookbook: Banana Chocolate Gorilla Bread. I've had some marvelous Monkey Bread (I'm talking 'bout you,Rhonda and Christine) and this just took it up a notch. A little labor extensive but worth the effort. This counts as Cookbook Challenge #18.

We also made some spicy chicken salad for the week ahead and this was a good test for me to get more sensory about cooking and less recipe-driven. If I do say so myself, it turned out so well that I never once ate it as part of a sandwich....it was just so good, I just ate it on its own and was perfect to take to work for lunches. I also now understand the difficulty of recreating random cooking for recipes.

So, I'm light on the deep thoughts and witticisms this week and will just move on to the recipes:

Keith's Chili:

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground turkey

1/2 lb. gorund beef

2 tbsp minced onions

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

2 tbsp chili powder (we used Penzey's Chili 3000)

1 can black beans, drained

1 can chili beans

1 can red kidney beans, drained

2 cans diced tomatoes (we used flavored: garlic and olive oil)

1 small can of white shoepeg corn ( we used mexican-spiced corn)

Tomato Juice

Directions:

In a slow cooker set on high, put meat in to brown. Add tablespoon of chili powder to meat while it's browning. Once meat is browned, add onions, garlic, salt and pepper and additional tablespoon of chili powder. Add all beans, diced tomatoes, corn and enough tomato juice to ensure good consistency....it changes all the time. Cook for four hours.....we leave it on to simmer all night on low. Chili, as always, can be always be adjusted to what ever ingredients float your boat. This one, works extremely well for us and is delicious.

My Spicy Chicken Salad

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/2 14.5 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained.....use as little or as much as you like

1 cup of light mayo

1 cup of light sour cream

1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 a red onion, diced

1/2 a cucumber, diced

1/2 a red pepper, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

2 tbsp hot sauce

1 teaspoon shallot pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Mix well and refrigerate overnight. As with the chili, mix ingredients to your liking. This one was damn good for me.

Banana Chocolate Gorilla Bread

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
• 2 (12-ounce) tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 6 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
• 2 bananas, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 4 ounces (about 2/3 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the brown sugar with the butter over low heat. Break open the crescent roll packages and separate the triangles of dough. Brush each triangle with sweetened condensed milk and top with 2 banana slices and 1 teaspoon chocolate chips; fold the edges of the triangle together and seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar.

Put half of the walnuts in the Bundt pan and top with half of thedough packets. Pour half of the brown sugar-butter mixture over the dough and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Bake until puffed, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the pan from the oven, transfer it to a rack and allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Put a platter on top of the Bundt pan and invert. Slice and serve warm.