This is not an original recipe, the prototype for it appears in Looneyspoons by Janet and Greta Podleski. It's decent as-is, and I suggest that you make it to the letter the first time you try it but there are some small changes that can be made to make this chili a favorite.
The Original Recipe for Chicken Chili
- 1.5 cups chopped red onion
- 3 cloves of garlic (mince)
- 3 jalapeno peppers (or substitutions mentioned below)
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded. (poach the chicken breast, then shred with fingers or two forks)
- 19 oz can tomatoes (cut up)
- 1 cup tomato based chili sauce
- 1.5 cups chicken broth (or two oxo cubes and a cup and a half of hot water)
- 1.5 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp each dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 0.25 tsp each Cayenne pepper and black pepper
- 19 oz can red kidney beans (rinsed)
- 19 oz can white kidney beans (rinsed)
- some shredded sharp cheddar cheese to garnish
Poach the chicken in simmering (not boiling) water for 20 minutes. Cut it in chunks or shred it. Saute the onion, green pepper, garlic and hot peppers in a large pot until the onion is tranparent and everything is starting to get soft. Add everything else, except the beans and the cheese, stir and cook for at least 20 minutes, but the longer this simmers the better it tastes. All afternoon is a good time frame. 5 minutes before you want to eat, stir in the beans. Top with cheddar cheese. Enjoy.
The fun part of this recipe is changing it. Add some corn, or water chestnuts, or chickpeas. Too hot? Take the membranes out of the jalapenos (don't leave them out, they add such a nice flavour...removing the membranes does cut down on the heat significantly). Not hot enough? Add a capful of Dave's Insanity Sauce, or a squirt of Sriracha Chili Garlic Sauce, or a packet of Canadian Army Ration Hot Sauce. Or you could use habanero peppers instead of jalapenos...tried that. Went over my heat threshold by a fair margin. Habanero advice: Use one at first, and leave it whole so you can scoop it out later.
Some bread and butter on the side, a little sour cream, Margaritas, and ice cream for dessert. Delish!
One final note: You can always exchange the chicken in the recipe for shredded beef, with one proviso: beef dishes seem to taste spicier than chicken dishes, so you may need to change the spicing accordingly.