Is it cold where you live? Cause let me tell you, it is COLD here.
Currently I am in my flannel pajamas, knee-high socks, heaviest, warmest sweater + down puffy coat + cozy slippers that go all the way up to my ankles, oh and my hat and gloves too.
Then I have proceeded to wrap myself in my down blanket. I can barely move my arms to type.
Yeah, it is that cold.
It is not that the temperature is actually that cold (we have had a lot colder).
Nope.
It’s the the wind. It is vicious I tell you, vicious. It just makes everything feel so cold and then there is that fact that the sun has not peeped out once today. For Colorado this is very unusual and it makes for an extra chilly day!
Now, I hate to get all cheesy on you guys because really who likes a cheese ball? Well, unless it is one of the Buffalo Fried Goat Cheeses that I made the other week. in that case, I love um! But I just got to say it, a chilly day calls for a big old pot of hot chili – topped with plenty of… cheese!
I am sorry, I had to (I really do hate cheesy lines – really).
This soup gets a nice smoky flavor from the chipotle chiles and smoked paprika. Then there is the chocolate.
Yeah, I added just a tiny bit of chocolate to my chili. It’s a secret! Not really, but it adds depth and richness to the chili that you would not expect. It sets it apart from all the rest. It’s healthy, hearty, super quick and oh so easy!
Make it today, make it tomorrow, or hey make it on Sunday for that Football thing. What’s it called again?
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 whole large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 (about 1 1/2 pounds) cooked chicken breast, shredded
- 4 teaspoons ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 can (28-ounce Size) fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans or black beans, optional
- 1 can (4 Ounce Size) diced green chiles
- 1 tablespoon dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cups grated cheddar cheese, optional for topping
- ¼ cups chopped fresh cilantro, optional for topping
- sliced green onions, optional for topping
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and then add the onion and garlic. Lower the heat to medium low and cover pot. Cook, stirring as needed until the onions are translucent and just starting to caramelize. This takes about 30 minutes.
- Add the chicken, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, chipotle chilies and adobo sauce to the pot and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes covered so that the chicken gets infused with the aromatics and the spices.
- Stir in the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, beans (if using), and green chiles. Stir in the dark chocolate cocoa powder. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a slow boil and cook, uncovered, stirring as needed until the liquid has reduced to your level of preference.
- For serving, pass the cotija cheese and chopped cilantro for topping as desired.
- This is great with beer bread and a salad.
Oh, yeah the Super Bowl. This, for sure, is Super Bowl food!
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Good Morning, Tieghan! Just saw you over at the Grow Your Blog hop and realized I have been visiting you a lot lately, pinning your delicious recipes & commenting on how great everything is here …. but I’ve yet to subscribe to your blog!! Fixing that immediately!
Would love to have you stop by and say “hello” sometime @ChattingOverChocolate.blogspot.com
This chili. AMAZING! (of course, I think pretty much every recipe here is
) Pinning 
Thank you!
WOW! Thanks so much! I am glad I keep drawling you back in! I will try and keep the yummy recipes coming!
Oh wow! I am not a fan of chipotle because it’s usually too spicy for me but these photos are absolutely AMAZING!!!
Visiting from the GYB Hop. Would love for you to visit back at toddlindsey.com!
Thanks you and you can take the heat down a notch by seeding the chipotle peppers and using only one.
Wow, this sounds amazing and SO unique. I love the heat and chocolate added to a traditional chili. This is definitely on my to-do list. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! Definitely trying this!
This looks so fab! I can’t wait to try it. It is exactly my kind of food. I love all the spices and use them in lots of my recipes. Thanks for sharing. I pinned it to remember it later.
Thanks for pinning!
Oh my! Looks so yummy!
Looks Awesome! I love trying new ways to make chili! Thanks for sharing this! =D
Your chili looks delicious. Thank you for sharing it on the Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party. Please remember to link your recipe back to http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com. We have been featuring our host favorites each week on our blog as well as Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and StumbleUpon. But in order to be selected to be featured you must have linked your recipe back to us as requested in our Linky Party rules.
Thanks!
Oh, wow! This looks delicious. I would love for you to come over to my blog hop and share this and other posts there!
http://countrifiedhicks.blogspot.com/2013/02/mondays-with-countrified-hicks-blog-hop.html
This looks great and sounds interesting and delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile
This sounds so interesting. What would you do to make it a vegetarian chili?
I would simply just swap the chicken for your favorite bean.Ours are black beans or green lentils. You could also use quinoa! Enjoy!
You had me at chocolate — and then there was the interesting recipe and your beautiful photography. I’m pinning this recipe!
Thanks for pinning!
This looks so great I can’t wait to try it thanks so much for linking up to I freakin did it Friday!
Just pinned this- definitely going on my menu plan soon! I think I may try to make it in my crockpot!!
This sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing at last week’s week’s All My Bloggy Friends