Chicken Chili with Summer Squash & Corn
- allijakubek
- Nov 13, 2018
- 3 min read
I’ll admit, the first time I made this recipe, it was the middle of September. Not exactly an ideal time for chili but I was craving something warm and cozy while I watched my first full day of football in Kansas City. In my defense, I think it was definitely below 75 degrees outside, which warrants chili in my mind. Today there's snow on the ground and the feels like is 27, I am wearing a sweater, and it's chili time.

My mom said chili can’t be called chili if there aren’t any beans in it. Is that a thing? I just don’t like the texture of beans, so why would I ruin perfectly good “chili” just for the sake of it actually being considered “chili?” My normal chili is really just ground beef, Italian sausage, and tomato sauce so I guess without beans I’m essentially just eating meat sauce as a meal. So I guess that’s kind of weird.

ANYWAYS. I’m stalling. Chicken chili time. Woot woot.
Ingredients:
· 2-3 chicken breasts
· 3 bell peppers
· 5 jalapeños, deseeded as desired
· 1 Vidalia onion
· 5 plum tomatoes
· 1 8oz can tomato paste
· 2 large summer squashes (about 2 cups or however much squash you want, honestly)
· 2 cups frozen corn
· Water on hand
· Olive oil
· 2 tbsp. butter
Chicken seasoning:
· Salt, pepper, and paprika. Just eyeball it. Don’t use too much paprika if paprika scares you.
Chili Seasoning:
· ¼ cup chili powder
· 2 tbsp. paprika
· 2 tbsp. garlic powder
· 1tsp cayenne
· 1 tsp salt
· 1 tsp pepper
Optional:
· Green onions, sour cream, shredded cheddar
Instructions:
· Boil a pot of water.
· Take your tomatoes and make a little “X” with a knife at the bottom. Once your water is boiling, add a tsp. of salt and throw your tomatoes in there.
· Boil tomatoes for 5 minutes then set aside.
· Season your chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika. Cook in a pan with olive oil on medium/high heat for 6 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
· Shred chicken with forks and set aside.
· Dice bell peppers, jalapeños, and onion in small-ish cubes and set aside.
· Quarter your squash into semi-thick slices. (1/8 of an inch, I’d say. You be the judge). Set aside.
· Take your cooled tomatoes and peel them. Put them into a food processor/blender with an 8oz can of tomato paste and 1 cup water. Blend that puppy up and set aside.
· Get your spices for the chili ready. Combine chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
· In a large pot, heat up 2 tbsp. olive oil and 2 tbsp. butter
· Once butter is melted into the olive oil, add your peppers and onion. Cook for ~5 minutes or until onions become translucent.
· Add your squash to the party. Cook for ~2 minutes. Make sure you stir it around a lil.
· Add shredded chicken! Dump in chili spices! Yes!
· Stir it up, ensuring everything in the pot gets coated with seasoning.
· Add tomato puree and stir. It should be thick, but not super thick. Hopefully the pictures help.
· If it seems too thick, add water or canned tomato sauce if you have that on hand.
· Add frozen corn!
· Cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
· Make sure you taste it to ensure it’s at your desired level of chili spiciness! You can always add more spices if you’re feeling particularly ~spicy~
· Top with green onions, sour cream, and cheddar! YUM.

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