It’s getting to be that time of year when a soup or a stew or a chili are often on the menu around here; how about at your house?  If you have followed this blog for a little while you have heard how VERY MUCH my husband enjoys soup—any kind of soup…the more variety the better!  So, I figured I should dust off my soup recipes and find a few more that I could add to our soup repetoire.

This—Veggie-full Chicken Chili—filled a vacancy amongst the recipes I rely on.  And it fits so well into our healthy but oh-so-yummy POV.   NOTE: Important to keep the size of the veggies approximately the same size so that they will cook well together.

And this easily could be adapted in a few different ways to make it just exactly the way YOUR family would enjoy it:
–  increase the spices
–  use a different bean (or more beans)
–  add more liquid
–  skip the tomatoes (now it is a White Chicken Chili)
–  add more variety of veggies and leave out the chicken

I would love to hear how you tweaked it and made it your own!  Enjoy!

Veggie-full Chicken Chili

ingredients:

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1# ground white-meat chicken
1 medium onion, diced
1 large red, orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 small zucchini, diced
5-6 ounces baby bella mushrooms, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chipotle powder
2 teaspoons dried coriander, or oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 jar of salsa (I used salsa verde)
2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 of a 28 ounce can chunky crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream

directions:

• heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat
• carefully add the chicken; cook for 5-6 minutes, gently chopping so that it breaks down into small pieces and ‘til the chicken is cooked through
• remove to a bowl and set aside
• add a tablespoon of oil to the pan; when heated, add the onion and peppers. cook for 5 minutes
• then add in the zucchini and mushrooms; stir together to distribute the oil (adding a bit more if necessary); cook ‘til all veggies are softened
• lower heat; add garlic and spices; stir constantly for 1 minute or so ‘til fragrant
• increase heat again to medium and add in the chickpeas, salsa, tomato products and broth; stir well to thoroughly combine; bring up to a simmer
• reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or so
• serve along with any of the toppings you prefer

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen