Ingredients

• 4 lbs ground turkey
• 1 lb bacon (cooked and chunked)
• 4 1/2 cups dried beans (black beans, pinto beans, or great northern beans all work very well)
• 2 (16 ounce) cans tomatoes (either diced or crushed are fine)
• 12 ounces tomato paste
• 2 onions, finely diced (preferably vidalia)
• 2 green bell peppers, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 (10 ounce) cans condensed beef broth (or chicken broth)
• 6 ounces beer (1/2 can)
• 2 fresh tomatoes
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 -4 tablespoons chili powder (to taste)
• 2 -4 tablespoons cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 2 jalapeno peppers (You can omit them completely or substitute hotter peppers if you want more fire)
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Mix and soak beans overnight per package directions.

2. Process the fresh tomatoes, garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper and jalapeno (hot) peppers in the food processor; place in the refrigerator overnight.

3. Note: The 2 tablespoons each of hot spices makes a very mild chili- while the 4 tablespoons w/added hot peppers turns up the heat-- for those who like it HOT!

4. Take out four or five cups of the soaked beans and place in crock pot (cut it to 3 cups if you did the fast soak- they will still expand while cooking).

5. Freeze the rest for later use.

6. If you are using canned beans you'll lose some of the flavor-- but it's still good.

7. Fry the bacon until crispy and place in crock pot.

8. Brown the ground turkey in some of the bacon drippings and place in crock pot.

9. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, bell peppers, broth, beer and tomato spice puree.

10. Stir to mix and let cook for 10-12 hours on low.

11. (You can also cook for 5-6 hours on high, but the beans will not soak up as much of the flavor).

12. Serve topped w/the shredded cheddar cheese.

13. This recipe is for a large crock pot. You can cut down on the ground turkey, beans and bell peppers a little if you have a smaller crock pot.