A Different Thanksgiving Celebration

My brother Benji on Thanksgiving. A belly full of turkey and stuffing ready for Day 1 of chemo.
The look of a determined individual ready to kick cancer's butt. He's my hero.

 

Thanksgiving this year wasn't the typical week long planning, prepping and cooking extravaganza or the fridge full of leftovers. It wasn't even a kitchen bursting with smells of all the yummy food about to be ravaged through or a stove and oven without room to spare. I still indulged in all the classic flavors of Thanksgiving; sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, cornbread stuffing and of course the turkey, but instead these delights were served in a to go box and eaten together with my brother, future sister-in-law and father in a hospital room, which for all purposes had become my second home over the last month and my first being the housing provided to family at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. And while it wasn't traditional, it reinforced the meaning of Thanksgiving, of giving thanks and acknowledging the blessings in my life.

You see the reason that for this non-traditional Thanksgiving was because for the last month my brother has and is an inpatient at Brooke Army Medical Center after being medivac'd from Afghanistan back to the States after becoming extremely ill and needing several blood and platelet transfusions. As the sister of a soldier you prepare yourself for many things. You can expect the inevitable deployments to countries embroiled in war and the months that go by that you may not hear from your brother. The sinking feeling in your stomach never goes away when the mention of a soldier’s death or injury is mentioned on the nightly news, no matter how many tours of deployments your sibling has bravely set off for. So when I got the call from my dad that my brother was coming home from Afghanistan and arriving in San Antonio at the military hospital the next day my thoughts immediately went to an explosion or gunshot. What I wasn't prepared for was for my dad to tell me he had leukemia. Of all the challenges and dangers I worried about Benji facing, cancer was not one of them.

Thanksgiving dinner from the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC)
Grab n' Go Cafeteria

What I realized as I was eating my cafeteria turkey dinner that day was that no matter who cooked the Thanksgiving feast or where I was eating it, I was thankful that I was enjoying it with my little brother and family and I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to do so and to have been able to spend the last month at my brother's bedside to support him. Through the last month there has been challenge after challenge that he faced with great bravery and poise. A weakened immune system that left him vulnerable to infections, the comlexitity of his case and complications of the leukemia.

It was also a big deal in that Thanksgiving marked my brother's first session of chemo and while it may not seem like the best way to celebrate Thanksgiving we wouldn't have changed it because it marked the first day in my brother's battle to conquer leukemia. Seeing my brother's strength and constant smile and the way that my family has come together as one, I have never been so thankful for my amazing life and the people that are in. I am also thankful for the doctors and nurses that have taken such wonderful care of my brother and the military for their amazing support and systems in place. I now understand the meaning of giving thanks more so than ever before and see Thanksgiving as way more than new recipes and abundence of food.

Of course I do miss those next day leftovers, but there is always next year...

A Bowlful of Chili

The leaves are finally changing color to beautiful reds, oranges and yellows and there is a crisp chill in the air. You know what this means? If you answered rain and snow you answered wrong, but I will give you partial credit. It means Chili time. That wonderful, comforting bowl of love, that when paired with cornbread is the perfect way to end a fall or winter day. I can feel the love and warm feeling in my tummy just writing about it.

Now, you could take the shortcut and buy it from the grocery store in a can and warm it in the microwave, or you can try my recipe that I have painstakingly tried and perfected throughout the years. It is pretty amazing if you ask me, but I guess you will just have to try it out yourself to see if it is as good as I think it is. What better way to spend a rainy day than inside a warm house, the fire going, football playing on the TV in the background, making Chili from scratch as the aromas of the kitchen waft into the rest of the house creating a feeling that can only be compared to as a big hug. That's right, I said it. A big hug. It is that good!



Add shredded cheese, cilantro, red onion and sour cream
 for the perfect finishing touch

Turkey and Three Bean Chili

Serves 20 (5 meals for 4 people)
Prep time: 45 minutes       
Cook time: approx. 2 hours


 Ingredients

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 red onions chopped
4 green bell peppers chopped
2 red bell peppers chopped
10 garlic cloves chopped
1 jalapeño fine dice
5 pounds ground turkey
2- 6oz. can tomato paste
5 tablespoons chili powder
3 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
3 teaspoons smoked paprika
5- 28oz cans diced tomatoes
2- 15oz cans kidney beans
2- 15oz cans pinto beans
2- 15oz cans black beans
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, on medium heat add the olive oil, letting it heat slightly, then add the onions (reserve ½ cup of onions as a garnish), bell peppers, garlic and jalapeño, cooking until tender, approximately 10-15 minutes.



Make sure to wash all your veggies

 

Make sure to cut jalopeno

into a fine dice

 

Cut bell pepper into 1/4 in. cubes

A picture of one of the most amazing smells you will ever experience

Once the vegetables are tender, increase the temperature to medium high heat and add the ground turkey making sure to break it up as you cook (my kitchen tool of choice is a wooden spoon for this). Cook the turkey for approximately 8-10 minutes or until the meat has been cooked through completely.

 

Make sure to cook the ground turkey through entirely and mix it in with the veggies

Next, add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, curry powder and smoked paprika and stir for 2 minutes until fully incorporated throughout.

Smoked paprika and cumin together is my favorite spice combination.
The curry powder was an accident that proved delicious and is now a part of the recipe forever.

Drain and rinse the canned beans in a colander in the sink and then add the diced tomatoes and beans to the pot. Add 1 ½ cups of water and salt and pepper to taste to the pot and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Once the pot comes to a boil, reduce heat to low heat bringing the pot to a simmer, stirring occasionally, letting all the flavors come together and thicken for approximately 2 hours but longer the better.

That is love right there!