Roasted Chicken Chili

Roasted Chicken Chili

Remember how I made two chickens for my birthday? Well, I used most of the 2nd one for this chili. I used the legs and thighs for other meals and had two fairly large chicken breasts and other odd pieces for the chili. So without further ado, here is what I did.

 

Ingredients:
1 can of Red Gold tomatoes with chilis
2-3 cans of tomatoes
2 cans of chili beans (I used mild since the tomatoes were plenty spicy)
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces
2 bell peppers (any kind, but I like red)
6-8 cups of water, depending on how watery you like your chili and how much pasta you’ll add
a handful of pasta

Steps:
1. Saute the onion and garlic.
2. Add the tomatoes and beans and cook a few minutes.
3. Add the bell peppers and cook a few minutes.
4. Add the diced chicken and cook a few minutes.
5. Add 2-3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Check the spices and adjust as needed.
6. Add the rest of the water and bring to a boil. Then add pasta and turn down the heat to low.

Chicken Chili

Almost done

Mushroom pepper rigatoni

Viola!

Today I felt inspired to create something different, something I haven’t done before.  Yes, believe it or not, I’ve never made a white sauce of any kind.  Ever!  I know, it’s ridiculous.  Also, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home after work, and got some great things I wanted to use right away.  I’m notorious for wasting food and I’m trying to work on that, so I figured I’d buy it and cook it today.

This seems like a lot of ingredients and steps, but you can scale it to what you have in your fridge and what you want to do.  And the hardest/longest step was chopping the onion.  The rest was just stirring.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 LB of ground turkey
1 medium onion (diced)
1 bell pepper (diced)
16 oz. mushrooms
1 head of broccoli
1/2 cup of shredded cheese (I used smoked Gouda with cracked pepper, but any melty cheese would work)
3 cloves of garlic (grated and/or finely minced)
2 TB of olive oil
1/2 LB of rigatoni (or any pasta with ridges)
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1/2 cup of half&half (or soy creamer or non-dairy coffee creamer if you prefer to keep this kosher)
salt & pepper to taste
fresh parsley and basil to taste
hot chili flakes to taste (optional)

Steps:

1. Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes, until golden brown and add ground turkey in a large skillet with high sides.
2. Brown the turkey until it’s completely done, seasoning it as you go along.
3. When the turkey is no longer pink, add bell pepper, broccoli, and mushrooms.
4. Add chicken stock and cook what’s in the pan.
5. Make a rue (a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of flour all mixed together and added to the pan).
6. Add the half&half.
7. In a separate pan, cook the pasta. When the pasta is al dente, transfer it to the other pan.
8. Add the cheese.
Garnish with the greens and you’re done!

Mushrooms are added

Broccoli , mushrooms, and peppers