Hearty Turkey Chili (No Beans, Low-Carb)

The thing I love about soups & stews is it's pretty hard to screw them up. I adapted this recipe from AllRecipes.com, used what I had in my kitchen, and fell in love. The original recipe is here.   Disclaimer: I like spicy food. Hot. As always, you can eliminate or reduce any of the spicy ingredients to suit your taste (specifically, reduce the red pepper flakes, ground red pepper and use mild salsa.)

Ingredients: 

• Olive oil
• Ground turkey (I used one pound, next time I might use 1/2 lb. ground sausage in addition)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• *1/2 tsp ground red pepper
• *1 tsp cumin
• *1 tsp chili powder
• 1 can tomato paste
• 16-24 oz. beef broth
• 8 oz. salsa or picante sauce
• 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can chopped green chile peppers (Tonight, I didn't have these, so I substitued 1/2 jar of sliced jalapenos with juice. I have made this before and prefer the green chili peppers)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, any color, diced (I used two orange mini bell peppers)
• 3 medium zucchini, quartered & chopped (our local grocery store only had one, so I used 2 yellow squash and 1 zucchini)
• For garnish, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and green onions. 
• *The original recipe called for Taco Seasoning, which contains too much sugar for my taste. I used a single packet of Splenda instead. If you opt for Taco Seasoning, you can eliminate the seasonings marked with *

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large stock pot on medium-high heat. Add turkey, all of the dry seasonings, and tomato paste. Cook until turkey is evenly browned. 
2. Add broth and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add salsa, tomatoes, and chilies. Continue cooking at a moderate simmer for about 10 minutes. Add more broth if the chili gets too thick. 
3. While chili is cooking, heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large skillet over med-hi heat. Cook onion and bell pepper until onion is translucent. Add onion & pepper to chili and continue to cook at a low simmer. 
4. In the same large skillet you used for the onion & pepper , heat 1 tbsp. oil over med-hi heat. Add zucchini and/or squash and cook for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add zucchini to chili & cook 5-10 minutes more. Add more broth or water if chili gets too thick. 
5. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and green onions