During the summer months we try to head down to the beach for at least a week…I think we’ve visited almost every beach-town in the state of NJ! Some years we go solo and sometimes we rent houses with family. A few years ago my brother and his family invited us to share a house with them in Bethany Beach, MD. It’s always a good time when our two families meet – our kids are right around the same ages and have a blast! My brother’s wife Maria and I are good friends – she loves to cook just as much as Heidi and I do! This particular summer we shared the cooking and Maria made a fabulous chili that everyone enjoyed. The kicker was adding a jar of Spaghetti Sauce…what a nice addition that was. Today I’m sharing an adapted version of her recipe; using ground chicken, adding in some fresh garlic and mixing in fire roasted tomatoes. Maria used DelMonte Spaghetti Sauce which I haven’t been able to locate in my area so I use Classico Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic Spaghetti Sauce and it sure hits the spot…Hope this meets with your approval Maria!

Hearty Chicken Chili
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt & dash of fresh ground black pepper
28 oz jar Classico Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic Spaghetti Sauce
14.5 oz can Hunt’s Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
15 oz can light red kidney beans
15 oz can Cannellini beans (or Great Northern Beans)
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Gather your ingredients. Dice the onion and mince the garlic; reserve a few diced onion for garnish. I usually serve this chili over rice so if you are too then go ahead and prepare the rice. In a deep skillet, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 3-5 minutes. Add the ground chicken and cook a few minutes more. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and fire roasted diced tomatoes. Add both cans of beans (drained and rinsed) and the chicken stock. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer a minimum of 20 minutes. I actually will let this chili bubble away for a good hour or two to really soften the chicken and blend all those delicious flavors.

To serve: Spoon a bit of rice in each bowl; a big scoop or two of the Hearty Chicken Chili and top with a little diced onion and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Delicious, hearty and perfect for this cool Spring day…

Enjoy!

Linda~

This recipe has been shared on Senior Salon, The Pin Junkie, Totally Terrific Tuesday, Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesdays, Cook Blog Share, Throwback Thursday, Funtastic Friday Link Party and Fiesta Friday…go check it out and then visit some other great sites!

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