My mom, who lives in Ohio, came to town to visit to spend the holidays with us. For her arrival I wanted to make something special and get the house smelling yummy! Memories of her chili, the cold weather and rain (which is NoCal version of an Ohio snow day), inspired me to make my own, using a new ingredient- Not Your Father’s Rootbeer. The results were fantastic and we actually just finished it up after Christmas during this cold weather, cozy by the fire, weeks of offtime, downtime, goodtime!

Ingredients are pictured below: I used both turkey meat and ground beef, onion, yellow pepper, scallions, jalepeno, garlic, stewed tomatoes (2 cans), white kidney beans (2 cans), tomatoe paste (1 can), spices, and Not Your Father’s Rootbeer (bottle). I minced up the jalepeno and sauteed it with the onion for extra pop of flavor.

Adds upon reheating included sour cream (a dollop), more shredded cheese, cilantro and chives, and of course oyster crackers- a must-do from where I grew up.