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Comforting Chicken Chili
I have already published a fantastic traditional meat chili, but I have been meaning to write about Chicken Chili too because A) it’s quite different and B) it’s the chili we always have before Thanksgiving at my brother Kal’s cabin and C) said chili always always disappears.
To me, a chili recipe is a template and this one is no different. The basic ingredients are good, but you can change the flavor and texture of the formula below by adding in some corn kernels, or topping the finished dish with some full fat plain yogurt, chopped cilantro and possibly even some pickled purple onion. The possibilities are endless!
Cooking away…
I make this chili several times a year now, and I always always double the recipe, reserving a huge tub for my freezer. Because I am somewhat of a food snob, I use my freshly cooked beans along with their cooking liquid in place of those from a can. I realize most of you aren’t making beans from scratch, so cans work as well, but please, rinse the beans. Go for it!
Kal’s Chicken Chili
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Servings: 10-12
(Kal always starts his recipes with the prep time, cooking time, and number of servings. He’s more top of his game than I am!)
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (canned)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded then finely chopped
- 1 green pepper, seeded and diced ⅓ inch
- 2 poblano peppers, diced (when I made this recently the poblanos were almost as big as my hand so I used just one)
- 1 large brown skinned onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 lbs ground chicken
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 15-ounce cans of cooked beans such as garbanzo, pinto or kidney. Rinse and drain. OR 3 ½ cups freshly cooked beans in their cooking liquid.
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
- 1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 6-ounce can tomato juice
- 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
- 1-2 cups corn kernels if you have that available
Toppings you might like for the chili: chopped cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheese, pickled onion, hot sauce — the sky’s the limit.
Instructions:
In a large soup pot, heat oil, brown chipotle peppers whole for three minutes, turning them over halfway through. After the time is up remove them and discard the chilis but leave the oil and any brown stuff on the bottom of the pan.
Before you cut or seed the fresh peppers, put on disposable kitchen gloves or you’ll get nailed if your hands accidentally touch your eyes. You do NOT want that to happen.
I cheated here and coarsely chopped then put the garlic, onion, and all the peppers in my Nutri bullet in three or four separate batches to pulse instead of chopping them by hand. It chopped them really tiny but it turned out fine and saved me tears and time. Add the chopped garlic, onion, chopped peppers and saute a bit, then add raw ground chicken and cook, stirring, until chicken is browned. Reduce heat to medium, add salt, cumin, and chili powder, stirring until soft, about six minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato juice and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Taste the chili and add more salt and chili powder if you like – I always do.
Ladle into bowls, garnish as you wish and enjoy. Homemade corn bread drizzled with honey or maple syrup is a wonderful accompaniment to this chili…just sayin’.
Serving suggestions for the leftovers:
- Combine chili with frozen peas and corn and carrots, and top with mashed potatoes for a sort of shepherd’s pie.
- Try a poached egg on top!
- I love making twice baked potatoes, scooping out some of the potato and replacing it with chili
- Use chili to fill omelettes
- And so forth and so on!
