Twenty Minute Chicken Chili

By á-10254

Ingredients

• 1-2 tbsp oil, I use canola or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 3-4 15 ounce cans of great northern beans
• 1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded or cubed
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes and green chili’s)
• 4-6 cups chicken stock or broth, I use water and bullion cubes or homemade chicken stock if I have it in the freezer
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• A generous squirt of Italian salad dressing or a tsp of the dry mix used to make Italian salad dressing
• I like to add a little sugar (like a tsp) and a little lemon or lime juice at the end

Preparation

Step 1

In your favorite soup pot, heat oil and add onion. Saute for 2-3 minutes until softened
Add chili powder, cumin and garlic powder and saute 1 more minute
Dump in 2 cans of beans, chicken, diced tomatoes and rotel tomatoes, chicken stock or broth. Let simmer for 10 minutes
Squirt in the Italian dressing or add the dry seasoning
Depending on how thick you like your chili and one or two remaining cans of beans after thoroughly crushing/smashing them in a seperate bowl. My kids love to do this job for me with the Pampered Chef Manual Food Processor. An immersion blender works great, or even a regular blender or magic bullet. By adding the creamed beans you thicken your chili while adding more fiber and protein in the process.
After adding the beans you may need to add a little more water or chicken broth to get it to the desired consistency.
If I have cilantro in the fridge I throw in a handful chopped up. I also add the sugar and lime or lemon juice at the end.
Serve with cheese, sour cream and corn chips, or any variation of those three that you have on  hand.
Tips and tricks for this recipe:

Like I said before this is one of my go to meals that I purposely keep the ingredients for in my pantry and freezer. When the yearly case lot sale comes around I buy loads of beans and tomatoes so I can get them at a better price.
I always buy onions in the three pound bags (usually 2 bags at a time) because I use them in so many recipes  I like to use the Manual Food Processor  or the Food Chopper to finely dice the onion in a hurry.
If your kids freak out when they see tomatoes you can also use the Manual Food Process to turn your diced tomatoes into crushed tomatoes.
If I am feeling extra cool I take a a minute and finely grate a carrot and saute it with the onion. I love to do this because the grated carrot looks kind of like cheese and because we eat this meal with cheese my kids don’t even know I just tricked them into eating more vegetables. Que Evil Laugh….
I keep corn chips around because my kids will eat almost anything if I let them dip a few corn chips in it. I buy multiple bags at a time and keep the extra unopened bags in the freezer. It keeps them fresh even past their expiration date. Just pull on out when you need it.
I like to cook 3 or 4 lbs of chicken breast at a time and freeze it in one or two cup portions to use in this recipe and many other fast and simple dinners. ex: Hawaiian Haystacks, Chicken Chili w/Barley, Teriyaki Chicken Wraps, Chicken Chili Casserole, Baked Chicken Taquitos.