Corn Chip Chili

From the Kitchen

The endless heat wave we’ve been experiencing here in Tennessee finally broke this past week, and we are now having the most gorgeous weather. Waking up to 56 degrees and a slightly overcast day practically begged for the first pot of chili of the season.

I was an early-2000s Food Network mom. Weekday afternoons spent watching my favorites helped inspire many of those weeknight dinners and weekend parties. There was Ina and Alton, Bobby and Giada—and how could I forget Rachael Ray? Some of you may even remember her magazine. It was a great source of inspiration, and somewhere along the way I tore out a few Rachael Ray recipes and tucked them into our family’s proverbial recipe box.

This chili was one of them. I believe it appeared in her magazine in March 2008, and it quickly became a family favorite. It’s one my daughter has requested for birthday dinners and one I made nearly every Halloween. The pot would simmer on the stove while we trick-or-treated through our neighborhood, and afterward we’d come home—sometimes with neighbors and friends in tow—and stand around the kitchen devouring warm bowls of chili beneath piles of cheese and all the fixings.

The memories this dish holds are every bit as hearty and satisfying as the chili itself.

Ingredients

  • Adapted from Rachael Ray’s Tex-Mex Corn Chip Chili, originally published in Every Day with Rachael Ray, March 2008.
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 (15-ounce) can of dark red kidney beans, undrained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can of light red kidney beans, undrained
  • 1 (10 -ounce) can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, divided
  • One bag of corn chips such as Fritos, for serving

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ground turkey. Cook, breaking up the turkey with a wooden spoon, until the onion has softened and the turkey is browned.
  2. Add the chili powder and cumin and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the kidney beans and diced tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a simmer and cook for at least 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Stir in 2 cups of the shredded cheddar and continue cooking until melted. Remove from the heat.
  4. Place a handful of corn chips in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the chili over top. Finish with the remaining cheddar and additional corn chips. Serve immediately.