Chunky Chicken Chili

It's no surprise that chilly weather brings cravings for warm and hearty foods. Sadly, most of those warm and hearty foods we crave usually tend to be not so waistline friendly and leave us in hibernating-bear levels of food coma.

Introducing my healthy chunky chicken chili- a warm bowl of this scores some major nutrition points, and makes you feel all toasty without unbuttoning your pants. One serving packs in approximately 32 grams of protein, 35 grams of carbs, and 5 grams of fat. Super-simple and straightforward recipe, this also keeps in the fridge and freezes really well, so I tend to make a double batch and have it on hand to reheat on those busy weekday nights.

From the top left, clockwise: Chili powder, Paprika, Ancho Chile Powder, and Cumin.

Everyone has their preferences for chili, and I prefer to keep mine simple and let the ingredients and spices really shine through.

Peppers are perfectly in season right now, so I definitely took advantage of that. Corn is not a veggie I utilize very often anymore due to the high sugar content and the GMO thing really puts me off. But it just doesn't feel like chili to me without corn, so I hunted down and luckily found some non-GMO frozen corn (Woodstock brand) at Whole Foods. Lastly, I love me some spicy chili, so jalapeño galore!

I also made mine a chunkier chili, rather than soup-y chili, but feel free to increase the amount of chicken stock if you'd like to make it more like a stew!

Tip: if you want to make this dish more filling, it goes great over quinoa, farro, or bulgur.

Chunky Chicken Chili

serves 3

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts, cubed
1 cup low sodium Chicken Stock
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 Vidalia Onion, diced
2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 Jalapeño, diced/seeds removed
3 Tomatoes, hand-crushed (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 can or cup of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup Corn
1.5 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tbsp Ancho Chili Powder
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Paprika
alt & Pepper to taste

Recipe

1. Heat up EVOO in a large heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add in the chicken breast, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir for 5-7 minutes until chicken is lightly browned. 

2. Add spices into the pot and stir to combine. Cook for another minute. Add in black beans, corn, and jalapeño. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another minute. 

3. Add crushed tomatoes & juice to the pot and mix well. Pour in chicken stock.

4. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a light simmer for 10-15 minutes. 

5. Plate and serve!