Chicken Chili

Chasing the cold chill away with a hot bowl of chili works for me!

This is not my usual full of veggie style chili.  I just needed to get this done fast and I was curious to see if my kids ate more as I left out the peppers and beans.  All the rest of it stayed the same so I was surprised they didn't cheer when I told them no beans, no peppers.  Maybe they do like those!!

I used a ground chicken for this one ... have never used that before but when I find organic meat that is not the usual chicken breast, whole chicken, or beef, I grab it.  It worked out great, but of course, you can use beef or turkey to make this chili.

Chicken Chili

8 servings (1 1/3 cups each)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon chili powder (or more to taste)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups of Merlot or other red wine
2 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes (I blended up one can to smooth it out)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

*Feel free to add more garlic, a jalapeno pepper, kidney beans and 1 cup of chopped green pepper.

Directions:

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add onions.  Cook until tender.  Add ground chicken and cook until browned, stirring to crumble.  
2. Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients, and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.  Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Uncover and cook for 30 minutes or until desired consistency.  Discard the bay leaves.
3. Sprinkle with cheese and add a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Serve with a nice green salad!

If you're in the Northeast this week, you will get wet!  It's either raining or snowing and that can make some people cranky!  Lucky for me, my animals keep me laughing and busy as I'm often referee in the morning between the three of them ;)

Sleeping off his tough day 

Stay warm and happy!

Krista