Spicy Chicken & Sausage Chili
As much as I am eating salads right now it has been cold out! So I thought I would take a few days and make soups and chills. This is by far my favorite recipe – Spicy Chicken & Sausage Chili.
I remembered it was one of the few chili recipes which had no beans, which not only do I not love, but cannot handle right now, and plenty of flavor. It has some nice southwest touches that warm the soul.
This is an adaptation of a Rachel Ray (LOVE HER) recipe with my own tweaks. Below are some of the changes you can make to really make this recipe your own.
I hope you like it!
- 1 tbsp EVOO
- 2 lbs Ground Chicken
- 1/2 lb Spicy italian sausage
- 2 medium Sweet Yellow Onions chopped
- 4 cloves Minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika (If you cannot find smoked regular works)
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper About 12 grinds
- 1/4 cup Cooking Wine Red, White or Sherry
- 2 cups V8 (vegetable juice)
- 2 cups Chicken or Veggie Stock I prefer Veggie
- 2 large Fresh Red Peppers large chop
- 3 jarred Roasted Red Peppers from the pickle section
- 1-2 tbsp Hot Sauce Franks Buffalo is a fav for me
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup Grated Chipolte Cheddar Cheese Any cheese will really work
- Heat EVOO in a deep soup pot or large high sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground chicken and cook till brown, about 4-5 mins.
- Add Spicy Italian Sausage and cook for 2-3 mins more depending not the kind of sausage used. If there is an excess of fat try to remove
- Stir in onions and garlic. Cook till onions start to sweat but garlic is not burned, about 2 mins.
- Add black pepper, paprika and cumin. Cook about 3 more minutes until onions are totally done.
- Stir in cooking wine, stir for about a minute. Add V8, chicken/veggie stock and both sets of chopped peppers. Turn heat down and simmer for about 5-8 mins.
- Add salt and hot sauce to taste. Simmer for about 10-15 more mins, stirring once in a while.
- Garnish with Cheese on top!
Some differences you can make to your chicken & sausage chili:
- Rachel Ray uses Chorizo which, while extremely yummy, makes the chili a little greasy when you try to save it.
- I have also used chopped up Chicken Apple Sausage and would highly recommend this if you are not all about spice. If you are pregnant I know heartburn is a real deal concern everyday, use the chicken sausage!
- Another heartburn saver is the cheese. Adding a milder one like Colby-Jack takes some of the heat away.
- She also recommends Machego Cheese and Slivered Almonds. The cheese I found did give it nice flavor but is expensive so really any cheese works. My husband is allergic to almonds so I have never used those.
- The paprika is an interesting change. For the longest time I could not find smoked and just used regular. It gives it a very nice flavor but once I found the smoked it changed the entire base of the dish. If you can find it and like a smoky flavor do it!
- Other things I have added - broken tortilla chips, sour cream, lots of different veggies and black beans. The possibilities are pretty endless.
This is super easy to double or even triple. I am already planning on making a huge batch right before baby is born and freezing it. This offers some nice vitamins and a dose of iron when you need it. Just remember to watch the spice if you are dealing with heartburn!
I hope you love it!
2 Comments
Cindy C
Interesting…I just might try this! Thx for sharing your recipe!
Alyssa from The Sparkly Life
um, YUM!! this sounds amazing. i LOVE chili but Ive never though of putting sausage in it. totally trying this!