Buffalo Chicken & Barley Chili

I’ve mentioned before that my husband loves Rachael Ray’s Buffalo Chicken Chili recipe. I really like it too, but I wanted to see if I could make it a little more budget friendly. Her recipe calls for 2 pounds of ground chicken breast. That can cost up to ten dollars just for the meat in this one meal. In my recipe, I use just 1 pound of ground chicken breast, and add some fiber with quick- cooking barley. This quick, healthy chili is especially good on those cold winter nights.

Here is what you will need. 1 pound of ground chicken breast, 1/2 cup of quick cooking barley, 2 cups of chicken stock, 1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, 1 tbsp. smoked paprika, 3 celery stalks, 2 carrots, 1 medium red onion, 4 cloves of garlic, and olive oil.

Oops, almost forgot. You will also need a 14.5 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes (crushed tomatoes would be fine too), one 15oz. can of tomato sauce (or two 8oz. cans).

Finely chop the two carrots and 3 celery stalks.

Chop 1 medium onion and finely mince the 4 cloves of garlic.

Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Next, add the ground chicken.

Brown the chicken, while breaking  it up into smaller pieces with a spoon or spatula. This should take about 5 or 6 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika (McCormick has one in their Gourmet Collection). Also, add in a dash of salt.

Stir to coat all of the chicken.

Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Stirring frequently, cook this for about 5 minutes.

Pour in 2 cups of chicken stock.

Add 1/3 cup of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce to the pot.

Pour in the tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Bring to a bubble and add the barley.

Let simmer for 15 -20 minutes, or until veggies are tender.

Serve with cornbread or tortilla chips. A little blue cheese stirred into the chili is also quite tasty.

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By Tempie at December 17, 2010.