Chili Over Pasta - Food and Health Communications

Do you want to serve a fun dinner that everyone will love? Mix up a colorful creation by combining different Italian and Latin dishes! How? Serve chili over pasta.

Check out our picture above. That's our go-to turkey chili recipe (all white meat, no skin) served over black squid ink spaghetti. We served this dinner to a group of teenagers and, needless to say, it disappeared quickly. This crowd-pleasing recipe is sure to be a winner!

Turkey Chili over Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta:

8 ounces spaghetti - use your choice of whole wheat, tomato, squid ink, spinach, or plain noodles

Chili:

1 tsp each: ground cumin, ancho chili powder (or just plain chili powder) and dried oregano

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 carrot, diced

1/2 pound ground turkey breast (white meat, no skin)

1 can (14 oz) no-salt-added kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (14 oz) no-salt-added chopped tomatoes, with juice

1 can (8 oz) no-salt-added tomato sauce

1 cup chicken broth

Directions:

Heat a nonstick skillet or wok (our favorite) over medium-high heat.
Lightly toast the cumin, chili powder and oregano in the pan and then quickly add the oil, onions, and garlic. Saute until transparent, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the carrots and cook briefly.
Add the turkey and stir well.
Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and broth. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender and the turkey is done.
Meanwhile cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander and serve with the chili. Fun serving idea: cook a few different shapes of pasta and let everyone plate their own chili creation.

Great accompaniments include salad, blue corn chips, and Berry Custard dessert. Serves 6. Each serving: 300 calories.

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Judy Doherty

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland where she focused on pastry arts and baking. But after learning that the quality of a croissant directly varies with how much butter it has, Judy sought to challenge herself by coming up with recipes that were as healthy as they were tasty.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest in nutritional science to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

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