Disgusting gray weather means only one thing...

... Chicken Vegetable Chili!!! This might be the best chili on earth. It's good enough that I feel compelled to blog about it. And we all can tell that not much compels me to blog lately.

The recipe is originally one for Chili Con Carne from Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight cookbook, which you should all get whether you care about cal counts or not. It's got great recipes for various ethnic take out faves. I'll type out the recipe as written and note the changes I made (which are many) in italics, and some with asterisks. What? I love punctuation. Here goes...

Chili Con Carne/ Chicken Veggie Chili

1 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 4 1/2oz can chopped mild green chiles*
2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning**
1 pound ground skinless chicken breast
1 28oz can Italian peeled tomatoes, chopped (I used a 24oz jar of crushed.)
1 cup prepared salsa***
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tsp sugar (2 Tbsp instead. Trust me)
1/2 tsp salt
2 15oz cans red kidney beans, drained/rinsed (1-1lb can chick peas instead)
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 big handfuls string beans, cut into 1" pieces
lots of zucchini (maybe 4 big ones), cut into bite sized pieces
about 1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped small

*I did not have these chiles and wasn't going out to buy them. I did have a jar of mild sliced pickled jalepenos, so I used 1/2c of those.
**No Cajun seasoning in the house either, so I used 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp granulated garlic, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp cayenne.
***Um, yeah, so I was also out of salsa. Half a cup of taco sauce and half a cup of leftover homemade tomato sauce seemed like a reasonable substitute, so that's what I used. Can you tell I didn't feel like dealing with the grocery store?

1. Heat a large non-stick pan (Dutch oven) over medium heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes (more like 10-15 because of the carrots). Stir in the garlic, chiles, and seasoning. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up the chicken with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, salsa, zucchini, string beans, water, chili powder, sugar, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the flavors are blended and the chili thickens slightly, about 1 hour. Stir in the beans and corn and cook until heated through. (I actually cook it for about another 45 minutes.)

Serve with your choice of chili accoutrement. White rice, shredded cheese, hot sauce, and green onion are so good with this. Also, freezes very well, which is good because the recipe makes a ridiculous amount of chili.

Here's a pic that does not even come close to capturing the deliciousness of Chicken Veggie Chili. Mmmmmm... Chicken Veggie Chili...