Right now I am back to cleaning cluttered spaces. We have two sheds that got VERY cluttered before by in-laws moved out. Since this house is Tony’s childhood home, cleaning out this part will be hard for him. Since his Dad passed away, there are many memories in the stuff. This leads to keeping too much. Hence, why I am doing it. Don’t get me wrong, I keep stuff. In the last shed, his Dad kept a TON of screws, nuts, bolts, nails, and fasteners. All usable. However, things that aren’t useful, we recycle or pitch. I don’t mind a bit. I find organizing therapeutic. That’s the job for this weekend.

Since I am working, I want a dish I can do easily without much fuss. In my spare time I am always looking up recipes. I’m noticing most of the compilations of chili recipes have the same few types: the red with kidney beans and the white chicken. I’ve done those, and they are good. However, they don’t speak to me. I did run into a recipe on Food.com from Stephanie Z. called Vermont Style Chili. It uses some of the same stuff, but adds a bigger variety of vegetables and….maple syrup. I have never made a chili with maple syrup before. I was inspired. Go figure. It’s easy too. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I replaced the tomatoes with pumpkin puree to remove the tomatoes.
• I replaced the packaged spice mix with the single spices to reduce the sodium.
• I replace all of the canned beans with a low sodium variety to reduce the sodium.
• I replace the canned corn with frozen corn to reduce the sodium.
• I replaced the canned peas with frozen to reduce the sodium.
• I increased the number of red bell pepper to increase the level of vitamin C in the recipe.
• I increased the servings from 8 to 10 to reduce the calories

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Vermont Style Chili

Serves 10

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 5 red bell peppers, chopped 
• 2 15oz cans of pure pumpkin puree
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1 15oz can low sodium black beans, drained
• 1 15oz can dark red kidney beans, drained
• 16oz frozen corn
• 16oz frozen peas
• ¹⁄₂ cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• black pepper to taste 

1. In large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the peppers, onion and spices. Cook until the vegetables are soft.
2. Add in the ground turkey and cook until browned and the liquid has evaporated.
3. Add in all of the remaining ingredients except the frozen peas, corn and zucchini, mixing well.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for at least an hour.
5. Add in the peas, corn and zucchini. Simmer until the zucchini is crisp tender.
6. NOTE: to do this in a slow cooker, after step 2, add all the ingredients (except the peas, corn and zucchini) to slow cooker and turn on low. Cook for 6 to 8 hours. Add in the peas, corn and zucchini and cook for an additional 30 minutes