Brian’s Chicken Chili Extravaganza

This is the recipe for my heart healthy Chicken Chili.  It's pretty tasty.  You will agree that chicken makes the chili a little chunkier, but well worth it.  If you'd like you can substitute ground turkey or ground beef.  I've recently begun to experiment with different types of sausage and beef.  Ground buffalo and  spicy Italian sausage have a nice flavor together.  Experiment.  Let me know if you find something good.  Enjoy.

The Vitals:                                                            

-  5 chicken breasts (or 1-2 LBS of ground beef)
-  1 lb. Turkey sausage (spicy if you can find it)
-  5 cans of stewed tomatoes, chili style (if you can)   
-  2 cans of tomato sauce  
-  4 small, or 2 large cans of Brooks HOT chili beans  (they  are not THAT hot, but taste a lot better)
-  ½ large purple onion, 1 full Vidalia onion (yellow)
-  2 green peppers
-  1 clove garlic (the whole thing!)
-  1 can of corn (optional, gives it a South Western feel)
-  3 large jalapenos  
-  Cumin, Chili powder, Thyme, Oregano  
-  Hot sauce (if you like a certain kind, use it)                   

The Preparation: (after each step, add to large pot)

-  Bake chicken in oven, cut chicken into small chunks  
-  brown and crumble sausage in skillet 
-  chop veggies to desired  size and sauté in light olive
-  add tomatoes, sauce and beans
-  cook on low flame for approx 2 hours
-  the spices are key at this point.  While the chili is cooking, you must add the spices a few times. First, add the chili powder and be generous, I use about 1/3 of a bottle (20 –30 grams). Then add cumin, use about 1/3 the amount of Cumin that you used chili powder...Oregano s a wonderful thing, so be plentiful!

 

At this point, let the chili cook, and cook.  Stir frequently as we don’t want this to burn, and if it does burn a little, don’t scrape the bottom of the pot, that burnt stuff will ruin the rest of the chili!  

After cooking for Approx 2 hours (taste frequently because if you added too much cumin, you will need more tomatoes to equal that out) let it cool for a couple of minutes, and you will have some of the most delicious, low fat chili you’ve ever tasted.  If you are not worried about low fat, you can substitute Bob Evans spicy sausage for the turkey sausage, and ground beef for the chicken.  Sautéing your vegetables is a key element to this process, and I like to leave my veggies chopped large.  The sautéing and the cooking will soften them up wonderfully, without losing any of their flavor.  If you have any questions, call me anytime!  ENJOY!