Cherries Part 2 - Turkey Cherry Chili

I just noticed my last post didn't have a title. That sucks.  I could have come up with something catchy and alliteration-y like all my pumpkin posts.  Cheery Cherries?  Cherry Chow?  Cherries for Chomping.  That's the one.  Let's just pretend I called it that!

This recipe kind of started out as a joke.  Mondays tend to be "crock pot" day in the house, and I was looking at what I had on hand and what I could make with it, and with cherries, and this just sort of developed.  Even after I decided I was actually going through with it, I wasn't sure that it was going to work.  I called my husband on the way home from work (a bad day at work, on top of that) to ask him to open up the crock pot and make sure what was cooking was actually food.  There was, in my opinion, a good chance that I was stopping at Gold Rush Chicken on my way home.  (BTW, fellow Milwaukeeans, Gold Rush is the best chicken in the whole world.  Quite possibly the only restaurant I have endorsed so far on this website.  It is not good for you.  I'm sure they're not buying local chicken.  You will probably regret it the next day.  But SO good!!!  Make sure you put the bag the chicken comes in into a plastic bag before putting it in your car, or you will have a grease stain on your car seat!)

But it was food.  It was good food!  It was good, hearty, Wisconsin-y food.  I'm really pretty damn proud of how good it is.  A good entry for the contest... except that it didn't taste like cherries.  And, again, I feel like, as on Iron Chef, cherries need to be the star of the show.

So try this.  Don't be afraid of it.  I promise.  It's not as weird as dandelion soup.  None of the ingredients are weeds.  It's a good meal for a cold winter night.  Or, really, a not that cold winter night because it's been pretty warm this winter!

I used butternut squash in this because I don't like beans.  And as far as I'm aware there aren't any WI grown kidney beans.  But I'm sure you could use your favorite beans in place of (or in addition to) the squash.

In my mind, this needed more heat.  My friend Denise (who I do refer to as "Wimpy Spice" because she can't stand anything spicy) thought it was perfect.  I'm pretty sure I will make it again, and when I do I will probably chop up one of the Thai chilies to add some heat.

Turkey Cherry Chili 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 lb ground turkey
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 lb butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup Cherryland's Best Dried Cherries (you should hear how sarcastic that sounds in my head.)
• 1 pt homemade (or store bought) chunky spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups Cherryland's Best Tart Cherry Juice
• 2 Thai chilies, whole

In a large frying pan over high heat, or crock pot on "brown"setting,  heat up oil and brown onion for about 5 minutes.  Add turkey, season with salt and pepper, and brown for an additional 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add garlic, and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes.  Transfer to the crock pot, if not already there.  Add squash, dried cherries, spaghetti sauce, and cherry juice, and stir to combine.  Cook on low for 6 hours.

Remove whole chilies before serving. 

I served this over elbow noodles.  I was pretty excited to find there's an organic pasta company in Chicago (less than 100 miles!) who make elbow noodles and tri-colored rotini.  This probably wasn't necessary, but I like pasta in my chili.

This was really thick. If you like a soupier chili, add two cups of turkey or chicken stock.

Kate's Famous Green Pork Chili

I have a lot of pictures of fruits and vegetables chopped, or in pots, or in jars.  I could spend the next month or so giving the recipes of everything I canned, but it doesn't seem terribly worth while.  First off, it's mostly too late for you to use any of my recipes, since it's getting to be mostly fall outside, and everything that should be picked... should have been picked already.  Second off, everything is still in jars.  I don't know how any of it tastes, and I can't even guarantee the canning recipe worked.  I'd rather not give you something I'm unsure of.  So, I will provide those recipes as I cook meals with them, through the winter.  

• Corn Salsa
• Pickled Fennel
• Whole Tomatillos 
• Apple Chutney
• Spicy Zucchini Pickles
• Pickled Watermelon Rinds
• Tomato Sauce
• Zucchini Relish
• Pickled Beets
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Bruscetta Topping
• Green tomato Relish
• Pickled Green Tomatoes
• Italian Style Pickled Green Tomatoes
• Apple Pie filling
• Rhubarb Chutney
• Yellow Tomato Chutney
• Pickled Hot Peppers
• Apple Sauce

I counted, and I have in my basement 150 cans of food exactly.  Lets say that there is an acceptable amount of fresh food available again starting in June.  June is 32 weeks out.  That leaves me with approximately 4.7 cans of food to eat per week.  Hmm... that seems unlikely.

SO, if you actually know me, and you live in the greater Milwaukee Area, and any of the above list looks exciting to you, let me know and I will certainly share.  OR, I could keep it all to myself, stock piled away in the basement, in preparation for the Zombi Apocalypse.  One or the other.  I haven't decided yet.

Whole Tomatillos.  Never bought them before.  They're sticky
once peeled.

One thing I did not actually get enough of and will NOT be sharing, Zombie Apocalypse or no, is tomatillos.  I only have one use for tomatillos.  I could, in theory, find more uses I am sure.  But the one use I have is damn important.

My famous green pork chili.

Okay, maybe it's only famous with my co-workers, but that's famous enough for me.  If I ever had the opportunity to enter a chili contest, I would enter this recipe.  It is damn tasty.  As proven by the fact that I had none to take home after work, and therefore none to take a picture of.  But trust me, it's delicious.

And spicy.  Clears out the sinuses.  It is one of my favorite things that I make, and you will see it again because I have four more pints of tomatillos sitting in my basement.

Canned Tomatillos
(found in several internet locations)

Husk and wash tomatillos.  Don't skip the washing step.  They have a slimy coating that turns foamy like soap.  Place tomatillos into a pot large enough to hold them, and just barely cover them with cold water.  Bring to a boil, and simmer until tender - about 10 minutes.  Be careful on this step.  I let mine boil too hard and they broke apart.  It doesn't matter for what I will be using them for, but if I wanted whole tomatillos I would be cranky. 

Pour tomatillos and hot water into hot, sanitized jars, and add two tablespoons jarred lemon juice into each jar.  Seal, and process in a hot water bath for 30 minutes.

My Famous Green Pork Chili

• 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and trimmed into 1 inch cubes(L)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder
• 1 pint canned whole tomatillos (L)
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped (L)
• 1 head garlic, broken up and minced (L)
• 2-3 hot Portuguese peppers, thinly sliced (L*), or you could use Jalapenos, Habaneros, or your pepper of choice to taste
• 2 cups chicken broth (L)
• 3/4 lb firm ripe tomatoes, finely chopped (L*)
• 1/4 cup minced fresh oregano (L*)
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• Sour cream

Place pork cubes into a large bowl and season generously with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder.  Heat olive oil in a large pan, add pork in batches and brown.  As the pork cubes brown, remove from the pan and place into a crock pot.

Once all the pork is browned, add onions to the pan, reduce heat to medium, and cook onions until tender, about 10 minutes.  In the last 3 minutes, add the garlic.  Transfer onions and garlic to the crock pot, and add in all remaining ingredients except oregano, cumin, and sour cream.

Allow to cook on low for 8 hours.  In the last 30 minutes, stir in oregano and cumin.  Serve topped with sour cream.

DELICIOUS!!!!

Man, too much of this got eaten at work.  I'm going to need to make it again for just me soon.


***Update!****

I forgot to add that, if this is too spicy, I will add honey to mellow it out a bit!