Pumpkin Spice White Chili

Wow, did this turn out much better than expected.  For this months Cast Iron Cook competition, the secret ingredient was "Pumpkin Spice."  I was not thrilled with the choice and I out right refused to make a dessert.  When in doubt, I usually turn to the crock pot to fix most of my cooking problems.  I was not let down.  Joining a few recipes I found on-line and tweaking to my tastes, I made this chili and it was extremely well received by the judges.  It came in second after the scoring was done, but it was requested at next months neighborhood block party.  So I'll take that has a win of a different sort.

Pumpkin Spice White Chili

• 1.3 lbs Ground Turkey
• 1 Chicken Breast, diced raw
• 1 yellow onion (diced)
• 1 green bell pepper (chopped)
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 16 oz can light red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 16 oz can cannelini beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 14.5 oz can of pumpkin puree
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• The Spices
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp whole cloves
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

In a skillet, brown the ground turkey and onions until the meat is cooked and the onions clear and starting to brown.  Transfer this to the crock pot and add all of the other ingredients except the spices.  Be sure to rinse the drain the beans both to remove gas inducing toxins and to make sure your chili consistency is right.

I put all of my spices in an old coffee grinder and set it spinning and pulverizing my cloves, cinnamon, and other spices to make a fine fully mixed powder.  When that was done I then pour that over the contents of the crock pot and stir well to fulling incorporate.

Cook this on high for at least 3 hours.  (Be careful because there is raw chicken in this mix, so no tasting for an least  90 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked).  I propped the lid off to the side for the last hour to thicken the chili up.  This is to your preference.

The Result:

This was awesome.  I see no reason to change anything at the moment.  I would recommend this recipe to anyone looking for something with a little taste of fall harvest.