Chicken Chipotle Rainbow Chili

My current obsession with ground chipotle spawned this chili. I'm thinking of carrying a little chipotle pouch with me at all times, and sprinkling it on everything I eat. I'm addicted.

Soups, stews, and chilis are the most reliable way for me to cram as many veggies as I can into the girls,  plus they're my favorite things to make. They're very forgiving toward my "throw in a little of this," "add a pinch of that" style of cooking, and there is something so comforting about dipping a warm chunk of bread or tortilla into a bowl of hot, soupy love. You know it's true.

I used the veggies I had on hand here, but really anything will do. The hominy, though - that's a must.



Prep Time: 20 mins (mostly chopping)
Cook Time: 30 mins (the more the better, obviously - this is an excellent slow-cooker candidate. I made this right before it was time to take the girls to gymnastics, and kept it on simmer for the hour we were there. When we got home, we ate, and it was perfect.)
Number of Ingredients: 14


1 lb ground chicken
1/4 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cumin, or more to taste
1 tbsp ground oregano
1-3 tsps ground chipotle powder, to taste
1/2 bottle beer (literally anything will do - I used Beck's cuz Mike randomly bought it)
1 14 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes + juice
1 4 oz can diced Ortega chilies
1 28 oz can hominy, drained
1 large carrot, chopped into half moons
1 large red pepper, diced
2 cups frozen fire-roated corn kernals
2-4 cups chicken or veggie broth

Cilantro, cheddar, hot sauce, sour cream, lime, avocado chunks for garnish.

Heat a couple tbsps olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Sautee onion and garlic until fragrant, about a minute. Add chicken, carrots, peppers, and spices, and break chicken up with wooden spoon as it cooks. When chicken is almost done, but still a bit pink, add beer. When foam cooks off and beer starts bubbling, add tomatoes, hominy, Ortega chilies and corn. Add 2 cups of broth to keep this on the chunky side, 4 to make it more of a soup. Simmer as long as possible to develop flavors.

Garnish with whatever you like (if you're me, a ton of extra chipotle), and serve with cheddar quesadillas and ice cold beer. Because eating Mexican-flavored food without beer is INSANE.

Red Pepper Chipotle Dip

I only recently discovered the glorious majesty that is ground Chipotle powder, and quite frankly, I can't believe how many dips, soups, pots of chili and Mexican casserole-type situations I have made and served without it. It's delicious - smoky, rich, dark, and super spicy. It elevates this simple red pepper dip to from good, to seriously delicious.

I wanted to make traditional hummus, but didn't have any tahini. I figured cream cheese would do in a pinch, and boy did it ever.  I plan to make this dip this way from here on out. Hummus, schmummus.



Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: None
Number of Ingredients: 7

1 14oz. can chickpeas
1 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers packed in olive oil
3 tablespoons cream cheese
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt to taste
A pinch or 2 ground Chipotle powder, to taste

Drain and rinse chickpeas. Drain red peppers. Toss into food processor (or blender, if you're not lucky enough to have come across a good one at a thrift store, like sad little me). Add the cream cheese, oil, and lime juice. Whiz to a non-lumpy puree. Add a big pinch of salt and a smaller pinch of Chipotle, then whiz again, and taste. If it's too thick, add more lime juice or oil. If you can't taste the Chipotle, add more of that. Whiz again, tasting and adding as you see fit after that - but remember, you want this to be thick and creamy, not thin and watery (blerf), so mind how much you whiz it, hoss.

When the dip has your desired taste and texture, sprinkle it with a fresh herb (I used cinaltro), and serve with raw veggies and/or pita chips.