Southwest Turkey Chili

If you follow TKP on Facebook {or Instagram!}, you might have seen my announcement about getting a new family member a few months ago.

Meet Farley.

{Farley Stewart, to be exact. He shares a birthday with a certain cooking/crafting guru, so we thought the middle name was a must.}

He's sort of become The Kitchen Prep's unofficial mascot... I kind of can't stop taking pictures of his precious face. {Hey, I tried not to turn into one of those people... but look at him. He's pretty darn cute.}

Our first few days with Farley were... exhausting interesting. I'd never personally trained a puppy before. Steve & I both had dogs as kids, but were too young to really be involved in the whole training process.

So all this puppy business was pretty new to me.

Getting a puppy has been a crash course in patience {a virtue which I wouldn't necessarily list among my top attributes}.

In fact, Farley and I seemed to be quite the opposite of one another in the first few weeks we had him.

Me: Deliberate. Planner. Neat. Clean.

Farley: Undisciplined. Distracted. Messy. Stinky.

Though we had our tense moments, we quickly found that we do have some things in common. We both like to cuddle. We both enjoy broccoli {Though I enjoy eating it & he enjoys using it as a chew toy and pouncing on it. Strange pup.}. We like a nice bath, and even getting our hair/fur blowdried. We enjoy eating. {Me? Food. Farley? Just about anything that he can get his needle-sharp tiny puppy teeth on.}We're both a little stubborn & have a mind of our own.

These last 3 months have been about getting used to one another and learning each other's preferences little by little.

He had a lot of learning to do, as did I. 

And now, Farley's become an integral part of our family. To the point that I'm pretty sure Steve and I have only had date nights at dog-friendly restaurants ever since we got him. Wherever we go, Farley goes.

Kayaking. The Beach. Work {with the hubby... one of the perks of owning your own business}. Family gatherings. Community events. Sometimes he even hints that maybe he's had enough of the gallavanting and excessive picture-taking.

Farley is there with us, making people smile and attracting perfect strangers to come over and say hello or share a story about a yellow lab they once had with a nostalgic look in their eye.

Last week was rough for our little family because we found out that Farley has severe hip dysplasia, a problem common to many large breeds, which means that he will have to have surgery. This is a hard pill to swallow since he is just barely 6 months old and we hope that he has a long, healthy life ahead of him.

It is difficult to watch him hobble around and heartbreaking to call to our fun-loving pup and have him stare back at us with a look that says, "I'd love to play, but I just can't right now." We are getting opinions from the best of the best and hoping that soon Farley will be back to chasing his tail and investigating the world, as a growing puppy should.

Until then, we're doing what we can to help him get better and tending to our own hearts with snuggles and comforting dishes... because we know that food can help heal the soul.

This Hearty Turkey Chili is a good start. Rich, robust, and warming, it serves as both a filling dish and a cure for what ails you.

Hearty Turkey Chili

2 tablespoons oil
1 {small to medium} onion, diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced {remove seeds and membrane for less kick}
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey {you can use lean if you'd like}
1 heaping tablespoon chili
1 ½ teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 cans low sodium pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 {8 oz.} can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
2 heaping tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1. In a large dutch oven, heat about 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Add onion and jalapeno and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute.

2. Add ground turkey and cook, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon. Cook until meat is crumbly and no longer pink, about 7-8 minutes. Add chili, coriander, cumin, oregano, and sea salt and cook, stirring, for a minute or two.

3. Gently mix in beans, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes until well incorporated. Pour in chicken broth and gently stir to combine.

4. Bring chili up to a boil. Stir in yellow cornmeal, return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 25 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot to ensure nothing is sticking. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in fresh cilantro.

5. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Optional: Top with grated cheese, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and chopped cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread.