Food of the Month: Chili

I thought I would start a food of the month and what better way to start then with a warm meal for this cold month of December. Chili is one of my favorite things to make since I love spice, cilantro, soup, beans and vegetables and chili mixes all of that together. Chili can be a very healthy meal since it's loaded with  tomatoes, vegetables and beans. Try to avoid loading it with sour cream, cheese and chips. I usually add a small amount of light sour cream or I add a few slices of avocado and cilantro. One great thing about chili is you can serve it to almost anyone since you can make it vegetarian, gluten free or dairy free very easily. There are so many types of chili and I love trying new recipes. Since I love spice I usually end up adding extra jalapenos, chili peppers or chili powder then the recipes calls for. 

 Here are a few I love. I hope you find them as tasty as I do. Let me know what you think! 

Southwestern Chili Source: Cooking Light March 2005

I just made this recipe for friends that love spice like my husband and I do. It was dynamite and I highly recommend it. I used Andouille sausage in place of the Cajun smoked sausage and ground bison in place of the ground sirloin

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili (Vegetarian) Source: Cooking Light October 2005

This is a fun way to have the flavor of chili with the taste of sweet potatoes. My friend Beanie made this recipe for Ryan and I and we loved it. I'm going to dedicate this one to Kristen Angel since she asked for vegetarian recipes on my blog and I think she'll like this vegetarian twist to chili!)

Chili Con Carne  Source: Cooking Light January 2010

My husband made this recipe for a group of people coming over to watch football last winter. This Texas style  chili packs flavor without beans. This was the first chili I can remember that I ate without beans. I really enjoyed the taste of the beef and flavor of the base. It was a great change up to how I usually think of chili.  

Turkey and Bean Chili Source: Cooking Light September 2010

I love this recipe because it's quick and easy. I've made it following the recipe exactly and I've also done it with the addition of bell peppers since I had them left over from my garden. 

Chicken Chili Recipe: Source: My dear friend Claire

This was the first chili I ever made and my go to for a few years before I started experimenting with new chili recipes.  I still love the flavor of it and the fact that it's a chicken chili without cream. The marinaded chicken adds a lot of flavor. 

Ingredients: 

- 14 oz can of black beans (drained - I use the no added salt canned black beans)
- 1 can red beans (drained)
- 1/2 can refried beans
- 29 oz can of crushed tomatos
- 1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- Chipotle marinade
- 4 Chicken breasts
- 1 Red pepper (chopped)
- 1 Green pepper (chopped)
- 1 Jalapeno pepper (chopped)
- 1 Yellow onion (chopped)
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp salt

Directions: 

Marinate the chicken in the Lawry's marinade (for at least 30 minutes)
and cut into chunks.  In skillet add olive oil and brown chicken.
Remove chicken from pan once cooked.  In same pan saute onion, red and
green peppers and garlic.  In large pot add chricken broth, red and
black beans and tomatos.  Stir.  Add chicken and 1/2 can of refried
beans.  Add seasoning.  Let simmer as desired.  Ready when heated.