How about a culinary side trip to Mexico or the south of Spain? This Chili is one of those dishes that takes so little time to prepare but tastes so good at the end of a busy day when comfort food is such a treat. Your family or friends (on game night especially) will love this.
If you decide to add more ‘heat’ to this recipe, aka chili flakes or red hot sauce, a dollop of sour cream as a garnish on every bowl of chili served is a nice antidote to the ‘heat’. Thanks for joining me on Cooking Uncovered, and I hope you enjoy this delicious easy dish.
By: Miriam Borys
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast - small chunks
1 onion - diced
1 red pepper
3 tbsp. chili powder*** (do not make the same mistake I did by adding this amount of hot ground chilis the first time I made this dish)
pinch chili flakes Chili
1 tbsp. oregano
drops red hot sauce
1 can red kidney beans - rinsed well first under cold water
1 can black beans - rinsed well first under cold water in a wire mess strainer
1 can brown beans (optional but tasty)
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup cilantro - chopped
1 cup sour cream - optional garnish
dash salt and pepper
On the stove top in a sauce pot sauté chicken pieces, 1 tbsp. chili powder, onion, and red pepper until onions are half cooked. Remember the chili is cooking all day in a crock pot so don’t worry about completely cooking the chicken and onions. This process should be really quick and painless, don’t overthink this part.
Add remaining chilli powder, oregano, chilli flakes, red hot sauce, wine (to deglaze) and rinsed kidney and black beans. If desired add 1 small can of brown beans.
Stir to remove the 'sucs'**off the bottom of the sauce pot so that every bit of flavor is transfered into the crock pot.
Pour all of the chili into a pre-heated crock pot.
Turn to high heat and allow to simmer away. Stir once at mid day but do not lift the lid during the day or this would increase the cooking time (you do not need to stir this at all if at work).
At dinner time when you arrive home lift the lid off, stir and allow the chili to continue to cook and thicken.
Serve with a tossed salad and bread of your choice.
Stir to remove the 'sucs'**off the bottom of the sauce pot so that every bit of flavor is transfered into the crock pot.
Turn to high heat and allow to simmer away. Stir once at mid day but do not lift the lid during the day or this would increase the cooking time (you do not need to stir this at all if at work).
At dinner time when you arrive home lift the lid off, stir and allow the chili to continue to cook and thicken.
Serve with a tossed salad and bread of your choice.
***Chili powder isn't the same as cayenne pepper. Pure cayenne pepper is much hotter than chili powder. Indeed, cayenne pepper is one of several ingredients that go into making chili powder, but they're not interchangeable. http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/glossary/g/Chili-Powder.htm
**caramelized bits that stick to the bottom of a pot or pan
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| above in the small glass bowl is the chili powder, generally this is the color of store bought chili powder |
Chef Miriam Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com
