3 Bean (Black, Red Kidney & Pinto) Chicken Chili with Kale
Talk about a one-pot meal, a healthy and delicious one at that. 3 kinds of beans – black beans, red kidney beans and pinto plus red and green bell peppers, a bunch of curly kale and ground chicken pack a flavorful punch while being healthy to the last spoonful. Better yet, you can top it with some shredded cheese, some crushed tortilla chips and make it more appealing to the harder to please tiny brigade. And shhh…. you don’t have to tell them that there’s kale in this ultimate delicious 3 Bean (Black, Red Kidney & Pinto) Chicken Chili… it will be our superfood secret.
I hurt myself at the gym last week and could barely move. To make things worse, the husband flew out to Las Vegas for a 5 day long conference the following day. That day, I realized exactly how grown up my 7.5 yo has become – he was a super trooper, helping me out with every little thing. He did not complain one bit even when I served him food that he otherwise gives me trouble eating.
I am on the mend now. Hopefully I will bounce back to my usual self by the end of this week.
I made a huge batch of this 3 Bean (Black, Red Kidney & Pinto) Chicken Chili with Kale with the husband’s help on Sunday. Today was the first day after a very long and painful week that I could sit down to work on the laptop. I even managed to take a few photos.
Oh, a friend mentioned that they add celery to their turkey chili – I am going to try that next time for an added layer of flavor.
Ingredients for 3 Bean Chicken Chili with Kale: (about 4 to 5 servings)
-
1 lb of ground chicken, browned and the clumps broken down. Alternatively you can use shredded chicken.
-
3/4 Cups each of black beans, red kidney and pinto beans. Rinse and drain well, if using canned.
-
1 medium-sized red onion, chopped
-
2 fat cloves of garlic, sliced
-
2 large bell peppers, red and green – finely chopped – roughly a cup of each.
-
1 can of crushed tomatoes or 3 to 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (I prefer using fresh)
-
A bunch of kale, chopped – about 2 to 3 Cups
-
A handful of cilantro, chopped for garnish
-
1 1/2 tbsp. of taco seasoning (recipe here)
-
1/2 tsp of turmeric (just because I add it to almost everything I cook, you can skip)
-
4 Cups of Chicken broth.
-
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
-
1 tbsp. of oil
How to make 3 Bean (Black, Red Kidney & Pinto) Chicken Chili with Kale
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the chopped onions, garlic, bell peppers and fry till the onions caramelize. Add in the chopped tomato and kale and cook till the tomatoes disintegrate and the kale softens a bit. Stir in the browned chicken along with the taco seasoning, turmeric (if using), salt and freshly cracked black pepper and cook for couple of minutes. Now dump the cooked beans, pour in the chicken stock and cover and cook till the sauce reaches your preferred consistency.
Ladle into bowls and serve while hot. Top with shredded cheese or crushed tortilla chips, garnish with cilantro and serve.
