For the Love of the Stove

I totally had a craving for this today.  I've had it before but never made it myself.  I made a few small adjustments.  I'm not necessarily a fan, all the time, of chunks of tomato in my chili.  This recipe calls for a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes and a 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes so I just used one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes instead.  I also like to add small pasta to my chili so I cooked a box of ditalini, added a scoop to my bowl and then poured the chili over it and it was delicious.  The question is, whether to put the pasta in the chili to store, or not.  An entire pound of pasta would be too much to add to the chili and store, 3/4 would be better, if you were going to add it to the entire recipe.  The only drawback that could come from adding the pasta to the chili is that it will absorb all the excess liquid.  This is now all about personal preference.  Keep the pasta separate or add it directly.  I divided the chili in half after I cooked it, kept 1/2 and added a little less than 1/2 pound of cooked ditalini to it and already, all the excess liquid has been absorbed.  That isn't a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.  The second half I gave away and gave a side of pasta to go with it if anyone wanted it.  The jury is still out as far as whether to add the pasta to the chili pot or not, and just use the pasta like a condiment if desired.  Oh, and the blue cheese chips aren't necessary, just a nice touch to the chili.

Rachael Ray's Buffalo Chicken Chili
Servings:4 Servings 
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) 
2 tablespoons butter 
2 lbs ground chicken breast 
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped 
1 large onion, chopped 
3 celery ribs, finely chopped 
5 large garlic cloves, chopped 
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (you can substitute with 

chipotles or chipotle chili powder) 
1 bay leaf 
salt & freshly ground black pepper 
2 cups chicken stock 
1/4-1/2 cup hot sauce, depending on how hot you like it 
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce (if you have a big can of 

tomatoes, don't go to the store

to get the sauce, it's fine. Just use what have) 
1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 
1 (7 ounce) bag corn chips 
1 (7 ounce) bag blue corn tortilla chips 
3/4 lb blue cheese, crumbled, like Maytag Blue 
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (a couple of handfuls) 

Directions:Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
1 Preheat oven to 375°F or broiler to medium. 
2 Place a large pot over medium-high heat, add 1 turn of 

the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon, and the butter. 

Once the butter has melted and the pot is hot, add the

ground chicken. Brown it, using the back  of a wooden

spoon to break it up into small pieces, about 5-6 minutes. 
3 Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf 

and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 

for about 3-4 minutes. 
4 Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits 

on the bottom of the pot. 
5 Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and crushed 

tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. 
6 Simmer for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come

together. 
7 While the chili is simmering, spread the yellow and 

blue corn chipsout on a cookie sheet. Top with the 

crumbled blue cheese and transfer to the oven to melt

the cheese, about 4-5 minutes. 

If using the broiler, 2-3 minutes should do the trick. 
8 Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped 

parsley. 
9 Top each serving of buffalo chicken chili with a few 

blue  cheese-topped corn chips.