Black Bean Chicken Chili

So after last week’s post about lusting after a mandolin, one showed up at my house. A special thank you Andrew to the person in my life who is way better at pulling the trigger at buying things than I am. I haven’t used it yet, but I will. The blades are just as intimidating as I had anticipated, but that won’t stop me. I just need an excuse to use it.

It’s soup/stew/comfort food weather again. The last bits of summer disappeared right before the end of the month. It’s never that nice throughout October, but I’ll take it. I already miss it. Sunny and cool is my favorite. I know I’m in the wrong place for that, but it makes it when it happens that much sweeter. I’ve taken to living in my lined rain boots since the streets don’t drain nearly as well as they should. My wool coat is out in full force. I know I really don’t need to be wearing it yet, not all the time at least, but I can’t help it. I’m all in.

This was another attempt at putting something in the slow cooker the night before, cooking it while I sleep, so it’s ready when I wake up. Of course this does nothing for my quality of sleep. I’m partially smelling the food which smells awesome and wakes me up, and I’m partially freaking out that it’s going to burn. It did. Almost. It started running out of water, silly beans. They were fine ultimately. A slightly smokey flavor is a nice addition. Without adding a ton of water, I was never going to puree this, which is fine. I prefer chunky, stew-like texture. Later that evening, I browned some ground chicken for an extra protein boost. Not thinking about the color difference, it looked like I was folding in popcorn to the mix. Odd.

I piled it high on a baked potato because that seemed like the thing to do. Dunking some bread probably wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Top liberally with sliced green onions. Sour cream/yogurt optional.

Inspiration: Budget Bytes

Ingredients

• 1lb uncooked black beans
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 pound ground chicken
• 1 bunch green onions, white and green parts sliced
• baked potatoes, cheese, sour cream, bread for serving

Preparation

Rinse the beans under cold water and pick out any substandard looking beans or pebbles. Place them in the slow cooker along with all of the ingredients through the water. Stir to combine. Turn the slow cooker on high for 6-8 hours. Check the mixture for additional water. You don’t want it to dry out. The beans should be nice and soft. When it’s done cooking, brown the ground chicken in a separate pan. Stir into the beans. Top with green onions.