Recipe: turkey white bean pumpkin chili

It's soup season again and this is the first new soup I've tried. I already have others but I've been a blogging slacker so you'll have to have patience.

I know this might sound like a strange soup but it's really quite tasty. Don't let the pumpkin scare you off. There is so much other flavor going on that there isn't an overly pumpkiny taste.  You'll just have to trust me on this one!

You will need:

• 2 lb lean ground turkey
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp chili powder, to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 (15 oz cans) of white northern or navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 4.5 oz canned chopped green chile
• 2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
• fat free sour cream for topping (optional)
• chopped cilantro and chives for topping (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

 Cook the ground turkey, onion and garlic in a heavy sautee pan until turkey is brown and broken up. Add to the crock pot. Add the remainder of the ingredients (save the toppings) into the crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Top with sour cream and chives/cilantro if desired.