Buffalo Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 pounds all-white meat ground chicken breast
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 5 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (you can substitute with chipotles or chipotle chili powder) - I substituted with chipotle chili powder
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup hot sauce, depending on how hot you like it (I used Franks Red Hot...I put that sh#t on everything! haha)
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce (if you have a big can of tomatoes, don't go to the store to get the sauce, it's fine. Just use what you have)
• 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 7-ounce bag yellow corn chips
• 1 7-ounce bag blue corn chips
• 3/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled, recommended type Maytag Blue
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped (a couple of handfuls)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F or broiler to medium
2. Place a large pot over medium-high heat, add 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon, and the butter.
3. Once the butter has melted and the pot is hot, add the ground chicken. Brown it, using the back of a wooden spoon to break it up in to small pieces, about 5-6 minutes.
4. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
6. Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
7. While the chili is simmering, spread the yellow and blue corn chips out on a cookie sheet. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and transfer to the oven to melt the cheese, about 4-5 minutes. If using the broiler, 2-3 minutes should do the trick. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.
8. Top each serving of buffalo chicken chili with a few blue cheese-topped corn chips

Notes