Cold weather cuisine

It's snowing here. Lots. And lots and lots. Feet and feet. This means that Jake has been "Mr. Mountain Man." He's always a mountain man, but during winter it is even more so. There is snow blowing to be done,wood to be brought in, fire to be maintained, a widowed neighbor to be taken care of, well pumps to be checked on and insulated to keep from freezing, and so much more! He's so awesome and takes care of ALL of it without the slightest complaint. Seeing him be Mr Mountain Man makes me feel all...domestic. I am driven to bake bread. Compelled to make cookies. Apple crisp haunts my dreams.

Then there is the fact that will this much snow we could loose power for hours or even days at a time. No power means no water for us. This causes me to keep up on the laundry and dishes like no ones business. I also keep the house nice and picked up because I just HATE tripping over things in the dark. Our stove stop is also electric, so I can't cook when we loose power. However, I can warm things up on the wood burning stove. So when a storm is coming in I have a couple fall back meals that I make up in advance that are easy to warm up by the fire, and I thought I'd share a few. :)

One Pot Meaty Chili

1 large onion, chopped
1 large orange, red, or yellow bell pepper chopped (I use half yellow and half orange because I like color)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 pounds lean ground turkey (or beef, and sometimes I use venison)
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 Tbsp chili powder to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
a dash of red pepper flakes

Add a glug of olive oil to a large pot or Dutch oven. Saute onions, bell pepper, and garlic over medium-high heat until just tender. Dump in turkey and break up while cooking. When turkey is cooked through stir in the tomatoes (with juice) tomato sauce, beans, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat.

Cover and turn down the head to medium-low and cook for 1-1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste about half way through cooking.

Serve with sour cream and cheese if desired.

It's easy, and it only takes one cutting board, one knife, one spoon, and one pot. Who doesn't love that? And it heats up in a small pot on the wood stove like a charm. If you do end up making it, let me know what you think. It's not a completely original recipe, but I have modified it a bit.

ETA: The chili is not spicy at all. Feel free to spice it up with more chili powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, or even hot sauce if you'd like.