Three 4-Alarm Italian Chili Mac

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-Worthy

This recipe is one of the staples in my home and comes from a recipe that is a little more tame than the one I make.  I love it hot and I crank it up some in my take on it.  Comfort food is comfort food and we all need it but we can still cut some corners on existing dishes to make them at least a wee bit healthier.

Ingredients:

1 lb penne pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin 1 lb ground turkey meat

2 tablespoons (or handfuls) chili powder

1 onion chopped

1 cubanelle pepper seeded and chopped 3 jalapeño peppers chopped (less 1or seeded if you can't take     the heat)

1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper seeded and chopped (I used yellow this time)

3 to 4 5 cloves garlic chopped

1 cup beef stock low-sodium beef stock

1 (28 oz) can fire roasted crushed tomatoes (I drain out some of the liquid)

handful fresh basil leaves torn

2 cups smoked cheddar or scamorza cheese 2 palmfuls reduced-fat cheddar cheese

salt and black pepper

+ 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

+ 1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper

Cook penne in salted water according to [timing] directions until al dente. While you wait for water to boil, prep your ingredients.  When the pasta is cooking, heat a skillet on Medium-high with the olive oil.  When the oil smokes, add the turkey and brown.  When it is cooked, add the chili powder, poultry seasoning, cayenne, salt and pepper and continue to cook for a few minutes.  Add the garlic, peppers and onion and continue to cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the stock and scrape up the gooey goodness at the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomatoes and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.  (During this time, you hopefully have noticed your timer and drained your pasta.)

Pre-heat your oven broiler to High.  Fold in your basil and simmer for a few more minutes.  Put your drained pasta back into the pot you cooked it in and add the Italian chili.  Mix well and pour into a 9" x13" glass baking dish.  Cover with your cheddar and throw in the oven on the top rack.  Lightly char the top of the cheese by cooking it for like 4 minutes---BUT KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT.

Notes:

I love this recipe and others seem to too.  The best thing is that you can tweak it a million ways.  Like for me, I add more heat to it with hotter peppers. A parent may sneak in some more veggies by chopping them up small and mixing them in.  This recipe is also great for leftovers and bringing to work.  Try it.

Healthy Tweaks:

I substituted turkey meat for the sirloin.  It is good to reduce the amount of red meat you eat on a weekly or month basis. 

I used low fat cheese and used less of it than prescribed.

I used low-sodium beef stock.

Tweaks:

I substituted cubanelle peppers with jalapeño peppers and added cayenne.

I added poultry seasoning to give the turkey meat an edge.

I added more garlic.

I reduced the amount of meat.

I removed some liquid from the can of tomatoes.

Leave me comments online--I love the attention.

Do you have any recipes you want me to try?  Shoot me a note: themaniccheater@gmail.com