Update from Last Night: P90X3 The Challenge & Turkey Chili

I got caught up last night watching the midseason premiere of one of my favorite shows (American Horror Story! Even though I'm not totally feeling this season...), so I didn't get a chance to check back in yesterday. But, never fear, I've got that yummy turkey chili recipe for you guys, as promised!

I did P90X3 "The Challenge" with Steve last night. As I've said before, this is one of my favorite P90X3 workouts. Its all pull ups and push ups, and its called "The Challenge," because you're supposed to set a number of pull ups and push ups for yourself to do--- one that really challenges you to complete all of the reps. For someone like me who is always trying to push themselves to their max, that's right up my alley! Steve was a little bit discouraged because his numbers were on the low side, but I reassured him that EVERYONE has to start SOMEWHERE, and the higher reps will come with time!

I'm checking for a pulse... Yes, he's alive!

For dinner, we had some hearty (and very filling!) platefuls of low carb (AKA no beans in sight!) turkey chili. I'd originally intended for this recipe to make 2 servings (using 8 ounces of ground turkey), but it was so filling and so hearty that neither of us came even close to finishing our servings. I served it over spaghetti squash for that chili with pasta effect, and let me tell you--- I didn't even miss the pasta. Keep reading for the details, of course!

Great for those cold winter nights we just can't seem to escape lately!

Recipe:
Low Carb Turkey Chili with Spaghetti Squash (Serves 2-4)

8 Ounces 99% fat free extra lean ground turkey
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1/4 Cup chopped celery
1 Garlic chopped clove
1 1/2 Cups roughly chopped zucchini
1 1/2 Cups roughly chopped eggplant
1 Diced tomato (keep an extra tomato on hand--- in case you need to add more)
1/4 Cup roughly chopped peppers (sweet or spicy--- pick your poison!)
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon spicy dijon mustard (make sure the brand you use is clean--- adding ground mustard seed and a couple dashes of hot sauce would be a clean alternative!)
1 Packet of Truvia/Stevia
1 Teaspoon chili powder
1/2 Teaspoon cumin
1 Spaghetti squash

*** Please note that this chili recipe is NOT very spicy, so it'll be great for those of you that don't have made-of-iron, hot-sauce-loving, "come on, my mouth doesn't even feel like its on fire" taste palettes such as myself... if you do, add more of the spicy ingredients to your liking (hot peppers in addition to sweet peppers, more chili powder/cumin, some additional hot sauce, etc.). I deliberately made it on the mild side--- otherwise, my husband wouldn't have eaten it!

In a pan, simmer ground turkey, onion, celery, and garlic until the meat is no longer pink. Place the ground turkey mixture in a slow cooker with all of the remaining ingredients, ensuring that all of the ingredients are evenly mixed. Set the slow cooker to high, and let the chili cook for at least 2 hours. Just before serving, cut the spaghetti squash in half longways, and remove all of the inner seeds. Place the spaghetti squash halves on a plate, and microwave for about 10 minutes. Afterward, take a fork to the innards of the spaghetti squash, scraping longways at the squash. Thin, long, spaghetti-like strands of squash will appear. Arrange spaghetti squash on a plate, then top with heaping spoonfuls of the turkey chili.

When I put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker, I wasn't sure if it would be "liquidly" enough, so I kept an extra tomato on hand--- just in case I needed to add more while the chili cooked. However, while cooking, the juices from the tomato extracted, to make the nice, thick, chili sauce I was hoping for. I'd anticipated this would make 2 servings for the two of us, but we had about 1-2 servings leftover, though--- so this recipe is VERY filling! We ended up sharing the leftovers with my in laws, who both raved about the dish. Neither of them missed the beans OR the pasta! The chili was a total hit! I hope you guys try it and you all think so too!