Paleo Pumpkin Turkey Chili

Fall has arrived in Chicago! Which means the return of comfort foods, trips to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch, and a lot more cooking in my Paleo kitchen. After a crazy busy summer, I am really looking forward to a slower pace of life with less plans and more time to spend at home. Plus, the flavors of fall are by far my favorite..so look forward to some recipes incorporating apples, pumpkins, and the like.

This chili incorporates some of my favorite pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove) in an unexpected, savory way. I can not tell you how good my place smelled while this was cooking up, you will just have to see for yourself!

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 tsp fat of choice (coconut oil, ghee, olive oil)
1 lb ground turkey (93% lean works best)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 28oz can fire roasted crushed tomatoes (no salt added)
1 15oz can pumpkin puree (make sure only ingredient is pumpkin)
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a large stock pot heat your fat of choice over medium high heat.
2. Add the onion and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper to taste, and saute until soft and translucent.
3. Add the turkey and saute until browned and cooked through.
4. Add the chicken broth and bring to a low boil. Allow the liquid to reduce by 1/2. *This step is very important, so be patient! If you do not reduce the chicken broth enough before continuing on, you will end up with more of a soup consistency than the creamy thick chili this is meant to be.
5. Reduce heat to simmer and add the tomatoes.
6. Stir in pumpkin until smooth.
7. Add all of the seasonings and stir.
8. Simmer covered over low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hrs, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

As always, I doubled this recipe in order to have leftovers. If you want to try this in the crock pot, brown the turkey and drain the fat before throwing all your ingredients into the crock pot. Cut the chicken broth in half and you will have similar results. 8-10 hours on low did the trick.