Another eat-your-lycopene recipe from Cooking Light. I made this for dinner Monday. Not only was it super-easy, especially after I did all the chopping during naptime, but it was very possibly the best chicken chili I had ever tasted. It tasted light, but not in a bad way, rather in a "damn, that cilantro makes everything taste so great" way. It was also very filling and we had two servings of leftovers. Highly recommended.

Cooking spray
1 c chopped onion (1 medium)
1 c diced green bell pepper (about 1)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 c strong brewed coffee
1 T chili powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
2 (15-oz) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 T masa harina or finely ground cornmeal
3 T water
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic, cook 5 min or until onion is translucent, stirring often. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 min, stirring often. Add cilantro and next 6 ingredients (through tomatoes), stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 min.

2. Combine masa harina and 3 T water in a small bowl. Add to chicken mixture, stirring well to combine. Simmer, uncovered, 10 min. Garnish with chopped cilantro, if desired.

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My substitutions: I forgot to use the cooking spray, so I tossed 1 T margarine in with the onion/pepper/garlic. Instead of cubing raw chicken, which I despise doing, I marinated the chicken in a store-bought herb & garlic marinade during naptime, and then baked until done, cubed the cooked chicken and added it instead. I used 2 tsp chili powder instead of 1 T, which was hot enough. I did use the masa harina, which I bought especially for this recipe, but I really couldn't see what it did for anything and could probably have lived without it.

Categories: one_dish_meals, chicken