So, about a month and a half ago, I checked out the new South Beach Diet cookbook. I got the stuff to make one of the recipes (You might know I make a weekly meal plan, then shop exclusively based on that) a few weeks ago, but I accidentally turned the book in before I made the chicken chili. Thankfully it was all canned goods, so nothing went bad. So today, I took out all the ingredients and made my own chicken chili, loosely based on a recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen.
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breasts
4 tsp. EVOO
2 tsp. cumin (heaping, cumin is my favorite spice!)
2 tsp. oregano
3/4 tsp. cayenne
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. butter
3 cups broth
2 cans of white beans
1 can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
1 can tomato paste
Tabasco brand Jalapeno sauce
While heating 2 teaspoons of oil in a frying pan on medium high, I mixed all the spices in a small sauce cup. I sprinkled each chicken breast with some spice mix, approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons total. Next, I browned the chicken on each side. When the chicken was done and removed to an extra plate, I put the rest of the EVOO and butter in the pan. Then, in went the onions, and I sprinkled those with the spice mixture (about 2 tsp.) When they were soft enough to pass the Jimmy test, I poured them in my soup pot. I deglazed the frying pan with a cup of broth, then poured the broth in with the onions, with the other 2 cups of broth. I poured in the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, and remaining spices, and sprinkled about 6 drops of Tabasco Jalapeno sauce. While it warmed over medium high heat, I shredded the chicken and threw in the chicken. I let it simmer for a bit, but I was hungry so I took out a bowl and began eating. I sprinkled a little cheddar on top, and crumbled some tortilla chips on top. YUM.
Next time, I will probably drain and rinse the beans to reduce the sodium content. This chili wasn't too spicy, but had plenty of flavor. You could definitely increase the heat if you wanted.
