By Garrett Kelly, Staff Writer
What you’ll need:
Crockpot
Vegetable chopping knife
Cutting surface
Two forks
Ladle
Tupperware (probably)
Ingredients:
1-1 ½ containers of chicken or vegetable broth
2 chicken breasts
1 white onion
1 red pepper
1 15 oz can of tomato paste
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can of beans
1 teaspoon garlic
Salt
Pepper
Chili powder
Paprika
Cayenne powder
Onion powder
Garlic powder
A dash of cinnamon
(Optional pepper; jalapeno, chili, etc.)
Start off by prepping your onions and red pepper. I prefer a fine dice on my chili vegetables personally. Once you have your veggies chopped, put them to the side for a moment while we prepare the chicken. I cook practically all of my crockpot chicken this way now, as it's incredibly consistent and results in some of the most tender chicken you’ll get to try. Place the chicken breasts at the bottom of the crockpot and add your broth on top. You want a decent amount of broth to submerge the chicken as much of the liquid will evaporate off during the cooking process.
Once your chicken is in its bath, we can begin adding all of our flavor additions. Add your chopped vegetables along with your cans of tomatoes and tomato paste. On top of that, add your seasonings and give it a nice stir until the liquid is homogenous. At this point, if you’re interested in a more distinct flavor you can add an extra pepper for flavor to the dish. I have often used fresh jalapeno for this recipe and it is tasty, but, recently, I’ve taken to using two dried chilis. The smoky aftertaste and subtle heat of a dried pepper pairs really well with the strong tomato palate.
Set the crockpot to low for 8 hours. In my experience, the chili is fully ready to eat after 6 hours cooking, but the longer it sits the more flavors intermingle. At around 6 hours, grab two forks because it's time to shred the chicken. Don’t worry about pulling it out of the pot, just stick your forks into a breast and shred it. At this point the meat will be so tender and flakey it should just come apart at a light tug. Continue to shred the chicken and mix in until the chicken is evenly distributed into the liquid mixture.
Thirty minutes before serving, drain a can of black beans of excess liquid and add beans to the crockpot. Beans don’t really need to cook, just heat up so you can throw them in at the end for best effect. Give it one final stir before plating and you’re good to go. If you used a dried pepper, you might consider pulling it out before serving up as it doesn’t make for the most pleasant bite.
You’re almost certainly going to want to save what’s left when you’re done cooking, so sizable containers are a must too. I’ve been cooking chili for a long time but in trying to eat healthier, I’ve found it challenging to cut out my family’s criminally easy chili from my kitchen rotation. So instead, I’ve adapted this lower fat, more heart healthy version.
For the flavor palate, with this dish you’re going to experience a noticeable amount of heat but it shouldn’t be overwhelming. The addition of the dash of cinnamon was something I discovered by accident, as with it the spice level becomes much less overwhelming. While normally I advocate spicing with reckless abandon, with this recipe less is more. Just a touch of cinnamon will be more than enough to achieve the desired, full up and down sweet and spicy ride of a good bite of chili.
Another family classic, I hope you enjoy!