I had a craving for chicken chili last night. Strangely, I've not had chicken chili before, it just sounded really good at the time. Per usual, I searched Pinterest for some recipe inspiration, then just decided to throw something together. This is pretty much how I make dinner every night: Get inspired then see if I have similar ingredients to make a meal. My family seems to enjoy what comes of this routine, so I'm sticking with it!
As some of you know, I live a "grain free diet". I've recently decided to reintroduce corn into my allowed foods, but limited in quantity. So far I've not shown any reactions to it! If you're going grain-free, you can still make this recipe by omitting the corn and maybe doubling up on the beans!
Here's my interpretation of "Chicken and Bean Chili"...
Ingredients:
- 3 large organic skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and blotted dry
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 quart of organic veggie broth (I like WholeFood's 365 brand)
- 1 can of non-GMO white beans (I like Cannellini beans) slightly drained, but NOT rinsed
- 1 can of non-GMO black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 bag of non-GMO corn (WholeFoods carries a large variety of non-GMO frozen veggies!)
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp tabasco sauce or to taste
- Borsari original season salt to taste (I swear by this season salt. This is not a paid advert. I just really like the stuff!)
- 2 Tbs. Irish butter
- Avocado, fresh cilantro and shredded Monterey Jack cheese for toppings
Directions:
- Season chicken with Borsari salt and place in a microwave-safe covered dish with 1 cup of the veggie broth. (My favorite dish to use is this covered stoneware dish by Pampered Chef. The chicken comes out moist & tender, and never rubbery!) Cook for 5-7 minutes or until your chicken is cooked through. You can also use your cooktop, but I wanted to save time.
- While the chicken is cooking, sauté the chopped onions in olive oil until translucent, about 3-5 minutes, then add the chopped garlic and continue simmering for another minute.
- Add remaining veggie broth, drained & rinsed black beans, and drained but NOT rinsed white beans. I like to use the natural starch of the white beans to slightly thicken the chili. Then you won't need to add any flours or thickeners later.
- Incorporate the frozen corn.
- Using kitchen scissors or a salad chopper, "shred" the chicken, and add to the veggies and broth, stirring well.
- Add butter, tabasco and red pepper flakes, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve topped with avocado, fresh cilantro and a little shredded Jack cheese!
My family loved this dish and asked for seconds. That's always a good sign. You can make it as spicy as you like, by adding more or less of the red pepper flakes and tabasco. I didn't add chili powder to this recipe, nor cumin. I liked the idea of making a "clean" chili, so I opted for red pepper flakes and tabasco only. I'm really happy with the results. Let me know if you make this!
(This is not a paid post. None of the links are for paid adverts, I just thought you'd like to know what products I use!)