A Fall Dinner for Summer Weather

This past weekend was H-O-T hot, especially as October weekends typically go. I'm talking 90+ degrees without a breeze. Lucky for us, we decided to remove our window AC units last weekend. Wait, no...that's not right. It didn't exactly turn out to be one of the smartest decisions we've ever made.

Why did we remove our AC units? Well, the husband doesn't hold a lot of weight in what meteorologists say (something about it not being a "real" science like chemistry), especially when it pertains to the 10 day forecast ("how could they possibly know that far out what the weather's going to be like??"). I'm not sure we even actually checked the forecast, just assumed that we wouldn't possibly need air conditioning in October since we hadn't used it in almost a month. Regardless, it turned out to be quite unseasonably warm inside and out. Meteorology: 1, Chemistry: 0 (sorry, honey).

Lookin' good, Mister Rogers.
Note: I once tried to explain that my love of cardigans was caused
by my childhood love for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. 

You know how a lot of women tend to be cold all the time? They're in a fleece when it's 70 degrees and keep a blanket or cardigan on their office chair just in case? I am most certainly not one of those women. I'm the one in a tank top when others are in a sweater. I happen to love all three of those keep-you-warm essentials (especially blankets and cardigans...definitely cardigans) but I just always seem to be warm. The other day I even blamed how uncomfortably warm I was on the lamp in our living room (it's giving off too much heat!). But really, it's just my nature, I can't deny it. Lucky for me (actually lucky this time), our crock-pot plan meant that I didn't need to use the oven and increase the temperature in the house any further. I'm pretty sure I was close to melting to begin with, so I was very happy to avoid that.

Partly because of this, and partly because the husband had been wanting to make chili for the past six weeks, we decided on a lighter version of chili than a traditional red meat and beans chili. I think of traditional chili as a classic comfort food reserved for chilly weather (chili...chilly...get it?). With one of our favorite warm-weather meals in mind (tacos), I decided to do some experimenting, and I must say I was pleased with the result.

Turkey Taco Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 lbs ground turkey
• 1 15oz can black beans
• 1 15oz can corn kernels
• 1 packet low-sodium taco seasoning
• 2 8oz cans tomato sauce
• 1 c water
• 12 oz Newman's Own mild salsa

Optional for serving:

• Red pepper flakes
• Frank's Hot Sauce
• Fresh jalapeno
• Low-fat shredded mild cheddar cheese
• Tostitos multi-grain scoops

Directions:

1. Brown the ground turkey in a skillet on the stove, just until it is no longer pink.
2. While the turkey is browning, drain the can of corn. Drain and rinse the black beans.
3. In the crock pot, combine all ingredients (except those for serving)

Slow cooking in progress

4. Cook on low for 5-6 hours
5. Personalize as desired to serve - enjoy!

Hers and his, obviously.
I love cheese!