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Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili

Name: Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped; 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped; 3 jalapeño peppers, two finely chopped and one sliced (for garnish) You can omit the seeds for less heat; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 12 oz ground chicken; 2 tablespoons favorite taco seasoning; 1 can (14.5 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed; 1 cup corn; 1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen™ Organic Diced Tomatoes; 1/2 cup salsa; 3/4 cup chicken broth; 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish; 4 slices bacon; 4 oz cream cheese (half a block); 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese; 1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

8 Ratings

6 Reviews

Prep 15 min
Total 60 min
Servings 4

Turn a favorite appetizer into a creamy, spicy chili.

By Bev Cooks

Updated March 9, 2017

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 jalapeño peppers, two finely chopped and one sliced (for garnish) You can omit the seeds for less heat
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz ground chicken
2 tablespoons favorite taco seasoning
1 can (14.5 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn
1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen™ Organic Diced Tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
4 slices bacon
4 oz cream cheese (half a block)
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese
1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Steps

1

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onions, both peppers, and garlic; sauté until it the veggies start to soften, 4 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
2

Add the ground chicken and brown all over, 5 minutes. Add the taco seasoning and continue to cook another minute.
3

Add beans, corn, diced tomatoes, salsa, broth and cilantro to the pot. Bring to a light simmer and cook 30 minutes.
4

While the soup simmers, cook the bacon and roughly chop into crumbles.
5

Add the cream cheese to the chili and stir until melted and creamy.
6

Serve chili garnished with bacon crumbles, cilantro, sliced jalapeno and shredded cheese!

No nutrition information available for this recipe

If there is one thing about me when it comes to eating food, it's that I seriously love my face to rain. For real. You know that scene in Along Came Polly where Ben Stiller and Jen Aniston are sitting on the floor in a restaurant eating spicy food and Ben's face is like sliding off his head in a river of sweat? I pretty much want whatever he was eating, times 45, right now. I loooooooove heat. I looooooove spice. And since I already have overactive glands, it works out for me! You're grossed out right now, aren't you. Okay but listen. Today's meal, this spicy kick in the pants Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili that was inspired and adapted from CinnamonSpiceAndEverythingNice blog. It is seriously going to tai chi your tongue. BUT. You have control of the heat! You do. You can leave out the seeds of the peppers for less heat. Or even use less peppers altogether. You're like a puppet master, hooohoohaahahahHAHAHA. Before we get to the recipe, how 'bout a basic lesson in heat ranges in peppers—before you accidentally add something to your food that results in a face volcano, cool? On the mildest end of the spectrum we have BELL PEPPERS. Zero heat. They're even sweet. So, you're always safe there.
Then a few notches up the heat scale we have ANAHEIM PEPPERS. They're still pretty mild, but have a teensy kick. Super teensy. Then a few more notches up we have the JALAPENO PEPPERS. As seen in this here popper chili. They're really not THAT hot, but if you leave the seeds in, your face might rain a little. Then we have the SERRANO PEPPER. It's a little hotter than the jalapeno. Not crazy crazy hot, but hot. Now there are few peppers higher on the heat index like the Cayenne, Thai, and Rocoto. Which you might want to avoid all together if heat puts you in the fetal position. Then oh Lord, have you heard of the HABANERO PEPPER? Stay away. Just run. Don't even look back. THEN, we have the GHOST PEPPER. Basically I turned into lava just typing out the word. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's make some poppin' chili! I left the seeds in for my chili because to me, there's just no other way to do it. Serve the creamy popper chili garnished with bacon, shredded cheese, cilantro and sliced fresh jalapeno! Your life just got so good. And hawt.
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