Chili is one of those staple comfort foods. It always reminds me of cold fall and winter days as a kid. My mom always used to make chili in a crock pot on the weekends. I’d have a bowl after coming in from playing out in the snow or on the couch watching football with my family. There’s something about the satisfying heartiness of the dish and pop of spices that just sort of warms the soul. As an adult I still love chili and will make the traditional beef version. But for more everyday occasions I like to devise healthier, lighter alternatives. To lighten the calorie load and cut down on the fat, I whipped up this chicken and portobello version of the classic. Don’t let the chicken and vegetable base fool you though, this chili is meaty and satisfying and sure to conjure up those same feelings of mom’s home cooking. Portobello mushrooms are known for their ‘meat like’ taste and texture. That in combination with a bit of beef broth give this chili its rich and hearty flavor.
‘Mighty’ Chicken and Portobello Chili
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 lb portobello mushrooms
- 15 oz can of kidney beans
- 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 15 oz can of your favorite salsa
- 2 Whole fresh jalapenos optional
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- ½ Medium red onion about ½ cup chopped
- 1 Cup beef broth or 1 cube beef bouillon dissolved water
- ½ tsp turmeric optional
- ½ tsp Adobo optional
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TBSP Adobo seasoning or ½ tablespoon each garlic powder & onion powder
Instructions
- Begin by dicing the portobellos, onions and jalapenos and mincing the garlic. Aim for ¼ to ½ inch pieces of mushroom. They will shrink as they cook, but you are looking for them to mimic the same size and texture of the ground chicken.
- Select a large high sided saute pan or medium sized pot with a lid for this recipe. Luckily it only requires one pan! I have a deep saute pan that I like to use with sides roughly 4 inches high.
- Heat up your tablespoon of olive oil in your pan on medium heat. Once hot add in your garlic, onions and jalapenos and allow them to saute and cook down a bit.
- Once the the garlic, onions and jalapenos are tender add in your cup of beef broth and allow it to deglaze the pan.
- Add your mushrooms to the pan and stir to combine with the broth, garlic, onions and jalapenos. Allow them to simmer and cook down stirring every so often. Cooking the mushrooms in the broth rather than sauteing them in the pan allows them to absorb more of the beef flavor and become more ‘meaty’.
- Once the mushrooms have cooked down a bit and are tender add in your pound of ground chicken in addition to the turmeric and adobo. Break up the ground meat with a wooden spoon or spatula stirring and combining with the vegetables in the pan ensuring there are no large chunks. You want the meat to combine with the broth and vegetables so that all of the flavors combine. Continue to break up and stir the meat as it cooks.
- I added turmeric, which is a traditional spice in Indian cuisine as it adds a nice rich color to the ground chicken and a slight pinch of peppery earthy flavor. Racheal Ray has a quick piece on the spice if you want to learn more!https://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipes/25183_what_does_turmeric_taste_likeI also added a dash of adobo to enhance the flavors, but this is optional as there is already garlic and onions in the dish.
- Once the chicken is cooked rinse and drain your can of kidney beans and add them to the pan. Also add in your cans of diced tomatoes and salsa. I used a low sodium hot salsa and fire roasted tomatoes with medium green chilies, but mild salsa and plain tomatoes will work just fine, it's more about your flavor and spice preference.
- Mix all of the ingredients until the chili is well combined.
- Turn the heat down to low and place the lid on the pan allowing the chili to simmer for 20-30 minutes and all of the flavors to come together. If you feel there is too much liquid at this point you can allow it to simmer with the lid off for a bit to let some of the extra liquid cook off.
- Once finished serve with some sour cream and shredded cheese or store in the refrigerator for dinner later in the week. Sometimes it's better the second day after all the flavors have settled in!
