chicken chili

The weather has turned cold again. It was fitting to eat the leftovers last night post (cold, windy, short) run.
Maybe not so fitting for Sunday, which was warm and sunny.

Football game + chili sounded like the perfect match when planning for the event. Then meatloaf happened, and an amazing pot roast sandwich at Mort's Deli. Instead of overloading on red meat, I decided to make chicken chili. This took some research, as many of the recipes have cheese and/or sour cream as thickening agents.

I started with the Pioneer Woman's recipe as a base. ...and used her secret milk + cornmeal to thicken it up some.

Chicken Chili
Description: Hearty Chicken and Bean chili
Author/Source: KB


INGREDIENTS
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 (4 oz) can green chilies
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (or white pepper)
4 cups chicken broth
1 jalapeno pepper
½ cup carrots, diced
2 cans white beans (cannellini or navy)
1 can chili bean mixture (black, kidney, chili mixture)
1 slice crispy bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 cup 2% milk
2 Tbsp cornmeal

DIRECTIONS
In a large soup pot, heat olive oil. Add onion and saute over medium high heat for 4 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add green chilies and reduce heat to medium. Add chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper and saute for 3 minutes.

Add chicken broth and increase heat to high until the broth boils, then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.

Add carrots, jalapeno and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Add beans, bacon and chicken. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes. While the chili is simmering, combine milk and cornmeal in a bowl or measuring cup and whisk to combine. Increase heat to high, pour in milk mixture and let the chili boil for 2-3 minutes. Return to simmer for 10 minutes. Serve.


Notes
For a less spicy chili, do NOT include jalapeno seeds.

Add variety of hot peppers to desired spice and flavor (fresno, serrano, etc)

ALL spice measurements are estimated. Taste and spice as desired.

For cheese lovers. If you want to add ½ cup shredded cheese to thicken, increase the chicken broth by 1 cup.