Meatless Monday redeems itself

So, this past week, we tried to do meatless tacos. We took 5 zucchini, two summer squash, half an onion, a can of corn, and about 1/4 of a green pepper, diced, and fried it all up with some taco seasoning. Stuff it all into a taco shell with rice (omit the rice, it didn't get cooked through *facepalm*) and beans, guacamole, and sour cream. Yum, right? They were not a hit. In fact, they were so not a hit, that Bug refused to eat one. This is the kid who will eat anything I put in front of him, and even he didn't like them. I ate a couple, because I was hungry, but I will not be trying this food disaster again.

We had leftovers, as we always do, and even though I was tempted to pitch them, I decided to see if I could maybe use them later in the week, maybe in a spaghetti sauce or something. Tonight I found my something. And it was so delicious, I have to write about it. And this may actually become a regular insert into our rotating menu. Yep, it's that good. What's extra nice is, I got to use up a couple other leftovers that were in my fridge and freezer, such as the last of my Christmas turkey, and real taco meat that we ended up making last night. There were enough leftovers to be able to have this again tomorrow, or get some dogs and do chili cheese dogs.

Chunky Chili

1 T oil
1 1/2 c turkey (+ 1/2 c leftover taco meat)
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 c zucchini-squash mixture
2 T Seasoning mix (recipe follows)
1 beer
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans

In a deep skillet, heat oil. Add turkey, and heat through, then add the onion, garlic, mushroom, zucchini-squash mixture, seasoning mix, and beer. Bring to a boil, the  reduce heat to medium, and cook until the mushrooms are softened (20 minutes or so) While that is cooking, in a crockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans. When the meat mixture is done, pour it into the crockpot. Cook on high 3 hours, or low for 6. Enjoy!

Chili seasoning mix

4 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix all together and store in an airtight container. Use 2 Tbsp for 1 lb ground beef.