Venison, Sausage, and Black Bean Chili

Venison's robustness makes this dish stand out. Use jalapeño-flavored or andouille chicken sausage to lend fire to the dish, or blunt the spice with mild goat cheese, or substitute sour cream.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup chili and 1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese)

Ingredients

• 1/4  pound  spicy chicken sausage
• Cooking spray
• 2  cups  chopped onion (about 2 medium)
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  pound  boneless venison loin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 2  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  cup  chopped plum tomato (about 2 medium)
• 1  cup  water
• 2  tablespoons  ancho chile powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1  (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese
• Jalapeño pepper slices (optional)

Preparation

1. Remove casings from sausage. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage, onion, and garlic to pan; sauté minutes or until onion is tender, stirring to crumble sausage. Add venison; cook 4 minutes or until venison is browned. Stir in tomato paste; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and next 5 ingredients (through cumin), scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until venison is tender. Stir in black beans; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top each serving with crumbled goat cheese. Serve with jalapeño slices, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

291 (22% from fat)

Fat:

7.1g (sat 3.3g,mono 2.1g,poly 1g)

Protein:

36.8g

Carbohydrate:

20.7g

Fiber:

5.5g

Cholesterol:

132mg

Iron:

5.9mg

Sodium:

928mg

Calcium:

105mg