Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Chili
Ingredients
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1/4 cup of Buffalo Wing Sauce (Franks Red Hot)
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1 lb of Ground chicken
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1/2 tsp of Dried Cilantro
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1 cup of Corn, frozen kernels**
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2 cups of Chopped carrots**
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2 cups of Chopped celery **
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2 cups of Chopped onions**
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1/2 tsp of Garlic powder
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1 can of Red Kidney beans **
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1/2 tsp of Onion powder
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1 14.5 oz can of Fire Roasted tomatoes**
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4 cups of Chicken broth
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1 package of Ranch dressing mix
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4 oz of Blue Cheese crumbles
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1 8 oz package of Cream Cheese*
* I prefer to use Neufchatel cream cheese since it is 1/3 the fat of regular cream cheese. You can find the Neufchatel cream cheese in the dairy isle of your local food store.
**The measurements of these ingredients can be changed depending upon how much of each you prefer in the chili. If you like more beans in your chili, feel free to add another can to the mix. If you are adding more ingredients to the recipe, be sure to add more chicken broth and buffalo wing sauce to balance it out.
Hands down, this recipe has become one of my favorite meals to make before a busy week. During weeks when I would be swamped with work and classes and had little time to cook dinner for myself, I would throw all the ingredients into the crockpot and set it to cook throughout the day. Usually, the chili will last me a little over a week and it reheats great. Not only is the buffalo chicken chili filling, healthy, easy to make and full of flavor, it is also great to eat for either lunch or dinner.
Directions
Place the ground chicken in a pan and brown it until it is fully cooked. Since the onion and garlic powder is used within the chili, I like to add a little of both to season the chicken while it is cooking. Once cooked, place the chicken into the crockpot.
Pour the chicken broth and buffalo sauce into the crockpot.
Chop the celery, carrots and onions (or buy them pre-chopped to save time). Drain and rinse the Red Kidney beans and drain the Fire Roasted tomatoes. Place these ingredients along with the frozen corn in the crockpot.
Add the onion powder, garlic powder, Ranch dressing mix and dried cilantro.
Once all the ingredients are in the crockpot, place the cream cheese on top and place the lid on it. This allows for the flavors of the cream cheese to seep throughout the chili.
Set the crockpot on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
Stir to incorporate the cream cheese an hour or so before you are ready to eat. For extra flavor, sprinkle the Blue Cheese crumbles on the top of each serving.
