Three Bean Turkey Chili and Sweet Cornbread

Three Bean Turkey Chili
Chili is one of those foods that instantly warms you. It is a must in our house during winter, especially when we need something hearty.

1 lb Ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
A handful of chili powder
1 tsp of cayenne pepper (or more if you like a spicy chili)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
15 oz can black beans, drained
15 oz can pinto beans, drained
15 oz can kidney beans, drained
32 oz can diced tomatoes (do NOT drain these!)

In a dutch oven or large pot over medium high, cook ground turkey until mostly done. Drain only if meat renders a lot of fat, ground turkey is very juicy and low in fat (usually only 7% fat) so it is more likely that is just juice. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Now add chili powder, cayenne, and cumin. Stir to coat the meat and onion. Add beans and tomatoes to pot and stir to combine. Turn down to medium low and allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes to render juices and allow the flavors to blend.

If desired, serve chili with chopped onion, avocado, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

Sweet Cornbread
This is pretty much the recipe off the Albers box, but doctored up. I much prefer a sweet cornbread, in fact I have been known to add a box of cake mix to my cornbread when I want something really sweet, and I use both brown and white sugar to make this sweet and moist.

1 c corn meal
1 c flour
1/3 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c milk
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
1 c corn (frozen is fine, thaw first)

Preheat oven to 400. In a bowl combine dry ingredients. Separately, combine the milk, oil, and egg. Make a crater in the center of the corn meal and flour mixture and pour milk mixture into the crater and mix together until just combined. Fold in corn. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 inch pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.