Kristin's Wahoo! Chicken Chili
Ingredients
1 tsp. olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 lb. ground chicken
1 - 2 tsp. Garlic Garlic™
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2 - 4 tsp. Bacon Bacon™
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¼ cup Wahoo! Chili® Seasoning Blend
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28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
2 can rinsed, drained kidney beans
Directions
Saute first 4 ingredients in large soup pot until chicken is no longer pink; add next 8 ingredients; simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Add beans; simmer additional 15 minutes. Makes 4-6 servings.
Tips and Hints
Most chili recipes are pretty forgiving ... which means you can take liberties with the ingredients and it will still turn out yummy!
In this case, I had a red pepper (not green) and 32 oz. of tomatoes my mom canned (yum!), so I used less chicken broth. I realized late in the game that I had just one can of kidney beans, so I subbed a can of pinto beans for the second can.
You'll notice that this recipe has both brown sugar and vinegar. Adding a little sugar to tomato-based dishes smooths out the flavor and cuts any bitterness, usually without adding any real sweetness to the dish. I did notice that this chili actually tasted slightly sweet, so I might cut the sugar to 1 Tbsp. next time. HOWEVER, my husband like the "sweet 'n spicy" taste.
Vinegar is a rather magical ingredient that smooths out flavors, tenderizes meat and in general boosts the flavor of a dish.
I have never used ¼ cup of Wahoo! Chili® in anything, and I was a little worried. That seemed like a lot. Relax! It was delicious and flavorful! And when measuring, remember that the Wahoo! Chili cap equals 2 tablespoons. Since ¼ cup = 4 tablespoons, that means 2 caps full of Wahoo! Chili for this recipe.
I was not able to go for the full teaspoon of hot pepper sauce ... we like spicy stuff, but I was afraid it would get too hot, so I used ½ teaspoon. It was perfect for our tastebuds!
My family LOVED this chili! They ranked it a 6 (on a scale of 1-6) and they said it felt a little less greasy or oily than regular chili. Now for a moment I thought, "What?! My regular chili is greasy and oily?!" But after pondering this feedback for a moment, and re-tasting the chili, I think I know what they mean. It just tastes fresher, lighter and somehow a little "cleaner" or less fatty. Both the chicken and the vinegar could be contributing to that.
The chili was even better the next day!
You may end up with some leftover chicken broth. I put mine in the freezer. Or cook up some rice using all the broth or any combo of broth/water for the liquid. Then tomorrow you can make stir fry and serve it over the rice!
