recipe: turkey and hot sausage chili

a little fall cookin today... i've never really dove into the chili realm since i'm not big on beans, but it is a nice comfort food every now & again. i used Emeril's recipe from foodnetwork.com, blipping the beans and adding a little extra seasoning. it came out very good (i had 2 bowls :), but was missing a little something something to become my official go-to recipe - i think next time i'd swap out the turkey meat for beef and add a jalapeno or 2 for extra spice. 

 

ingredients list:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 12 oz hot italian sausage (either ground sausage or removed from casings)
- 2 tsp Emeril's essence (if you do not have this seasoning blend, he posts are recipe for it here)
- 1 & 1/2 cups onion, diced
- 1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded & diced
- 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 & 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (or more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp taco seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 (12 oz) lager beer (i used Yuengling)
- 1 (28 oz) can chopped tomatoes (including their juice)
- fresh chopped cilantro
- shredded monerey jack cheese (about 1/4 cup per bowl)

to make: in a large pot, brown turkey, sausage, and Essence seasoning, stirring until the meat is no longer pink (about 6-8 minutes). add the onions and peppers (bell & poblano) and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. add all remaining seasonings and garlic and cook for 1 minute. add in beer and tomatoes and stir until combined, then bring to a boil. reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour, stirring occassionally.

remove from heat and add in cilantro. serve in bowls with a big pile o cheese on top.