This is a great recipie and I make it alot. It's very easy and as you read the recipie you'll see you can vary it here and there. You can use ground turkey if you don't eat beef. I use either or both depending on whats around. If you are vegetarian I'm sure you could adapt this recipie. You can make it milder or spicier depending on the chopped chilis you add. If you don't have wine on hand no biggie but it is good with the merlot added. Bake a nice cornbread to go along or some kind of bread and you are set.

Ingredients

6 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground sirloin
1 jalapeņo pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Preparation
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage, onion, and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeņo) to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.

Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese.

Note: Like most chilis, this version tastes even better the next day.
Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups chili and 1 tablespoon cheese)
Nutritional Information

CALORIES 375(29% from fat); FAT 12g (sat 4.6g,mono 4.1g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 28.9g; CHOLESTEROL 59mg; CALCIUM 165mg; SODIUM 969mg; FIBER 8.2g; IRON 5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33.7g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2003