Turkey/Navy Bean Chili over Rice

Two notes

This is a five-hour project.  It's not a vast amount of work, and you can do lots of other things while things simmer, but you have to be somewhere in the house to do the "stir occasionally" part.  It's perfect for the first cold, rainy weekend of the year.

Also chili is very mild: spice lovers could include a chopped jalapeno when they sauté the vegetables and double the chili powder.  The recipe I started with did that.

Ingredients

 1 lb bag of navy beans

1 lb ground turkey

2 cups uncooked brown rice (six cups cooked)

1 onion (finely chopped)

1 green pepper (diced)

2 stalks celery (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 bay leaves

1Tbsp chili powder

2 Tbsp cumin

1 Tbsp turmeric

1 Tbsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes

shredded cheese (optional)

chopped green onion (optional)

sour cream (optional)

Steps

Put the beans in a pot with a quart of water.  Bring to a boil for one minute, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and leave to soak.

After two hours, drain and rinse soaked beans, then set aside.

Heat oil in stockpot over medium high flame. Sauté onion, garlic, celery, and green bell pepper s until onions are translucent and the other vegetables are slightly tender.  Remove from pot and set aside.

Add six cups water, soaked beans, tomatoes and spices to the sautéed vegetables,. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

After the chili has cooked for an hour, put the brown rice and four and a half cups water in a separate pan, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low.  Set timer for 45 minutes.

Brown the turkey in a frying pan.  Drain and add to the chili.

The chili will be ready at the same time as the rice.

Serve in bowls and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions and/or a dollop of sour cream.