Pumpkin and Spice

Still staring down the last remains of turkey in your fridge? Can't stomach the thought of anymore turkey sandwiches?

Personally, I underestimated my family's turkey-eating capabilities and had hardly any leftover turkey (in retrospect, I would have gone up a couple pounds, so as to have more leftovers.) However, I greatly overestimated how much cornbread dressing eight people could eat, and had three (!) tupperware containers filled with dressing. I froze one, we ate the other as sides with various meals, but I wasn't really sure what to do with the final tub. I mean, I loooves me some cornbread dressing, but even I have my limits.

Then, I was struck with a fabulous idea for the last scraps of our leftover turkey and dressing leftovers. This turkey chili casserole is a great use for leftovers, plus it's super fast to throw together- start to finish, it'll take you about half and hour. It's nothing fancy, but it's yummy, cheap, and high in fiber.

It's simple- onions and celery are sauteed until soft. Then your chopped leftover turkey, a can of diced tomatoes, frozen corn, beans and a packet of chili seasoning go in the pan. Cook it 'til it's hot, then pour into a casserole dish. Top with cornbread dressing, and a sprinkling of shredded cheese. Pop under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly. That's it! Dinner's ready. Like I said, nothing fancy, but terribly tasty. It's spicy, comforting and hearty. The cornbread topping is great- I love mushing cornbread up in my chili, and this gives you all that, plus cheese! Yum!

Best of all, it's very flexible to your tastes and what you have on hand. I used a can of pinto and a can of kidney beans, but you could use your favorite chili beans- black beans would also be good. For a little extra kick, you can use tomatoes with diced chilies. I used a regular packet of chili seasoning, simply because I don't make chili often enough to justify buying all the spices that go in it, but you can of course use your own spice blend. (Those little packets are basically a blend of chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion powder. I like the ease of the packet, since I'm just an occasional chili maker.)

If you don't have turkey leftovers, cooked chicken, ground turkey or ground beef work just as well. You could even omit the meat entirely, and make it vegetarian. If you don't have leftover cornbread dressing, a prepared box of stuffing, or plain crumbled cornbread make good substitutions.

Easy Turkey Chili Casserole
Serves 6

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• oil, as needed
• about 2-3 cups chopped cooked turkey, or your meat of choice.
• 2 cans beans (your choice) drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies (or plain diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups frozen corn or 1 can corn, drained
• 1 packet chili seasoning
• about 3 cups cornbread dressing (or crumbled prepared cornbread)
• 4oz shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven's broiler. In a large pan, sautee the onion and celery with a pinch of salt until soft. (about 5 minutes). Add the turkey, beans, tomatoes, corn and seasoning. Cook until chili is hot. Pour into a casserole dish (or, if your pan is oven-safe, leave it in the pan) and top evenly with the dressing. Sprinkle with cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly, 2-5 minutes.
Dish up, and serve with a nice, cold beer.