Chipotle Chocolate Chili

Here's another chili recipe. I found this one on Our Best Bites and saved it to my recipe collection (click here then you'll have to do a search for the recipe). I thought chocolate was strange, but you don't really taste it, it just adds nice depth to it! In my recipe notes I just said go easy on the chipotle, but if you really like chipotle, then don't hold back!

Chipotle Chocolate Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, minced
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can beef broth
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (NOT Nesquick! That would be very bad!)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
Chipotle sauce (from the can of chipotle chilies)
1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (1/2 unsweetened baking cube), chopped (optional; use to taste as needed, too much will make your chili bitter)
3-4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
light sour cream
chopped green onions
shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:
Heat some olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, bell pepper, and ground turkey until meat is cooked through. Add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, tomatoes, kidney beans, and beef broth. Add all of the chipotle sauce from a small can of chipotle chilies. Heat to boiling and then reduce to a simmer (uncovered), stirring occasionally, until thickened as desired (about 30-40 minutes). If desired, add some chopped chipotle chilies. Add 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar and a small amount of chopped chocolate at a time until desired richness is reached. If necessary, add more red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness of the chili. This is where you can play around a little with the flavors.
When thickened and seasoned as desired, serve with green onions, sour cream, and cheddar cheese

Melanie W.'s Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits

It was nice to finally be able to make something on time! It probably won't be a regular thing for me for a while though, since we'll be on the move for the next couple months.

Anyway, when I first saw these in the cookbook I'll admit I was a bit surprised. They didn't seem to fit in with all the other sweets, and like Melissa said they don't really seem like a good breakfast food (unless you're looking for a quick way to get yourself going from the spicy kick they give you!) But I was happy to try them and try something different.

I decided to serve mine with turkey chili, since I had planned to make it anyway. That may have been a mistake, because it ended up being a bit too much spice in the end. I think they would go very well with a milder soup such as potato or corn chowder. My husband seemed to love them, as when we sat down to dinner he admitted he had already eaten 4 or 5!

I really like spicy foods and I also like chipotle pepper, but these still had to much spice for me. I used just under 1 Tbsp, but I think 1 tsp would have been plenty for me. My favorite part about them was the cheese!!! So delish. I would even make them again without any chipotle and just the cheddar. Serve those with some yummy chipotle flavored chili---that would be yummy!

Danielle's Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits

I actually made these for the first time a couple of months ago. We liked them a lot, so I was glad to see it come up in the rotation.

I pretty much love anything with chipotle in it. We used canned chipotle peppers instead of powder both times I've made them. That works out well enough, but I think next time I'll try it with the powder instead so the flavor is more even. Also, Max thought they were too cheesy last time, so we used less cheese this time. I liked them both ways.

My only complaint about these biscuits is that they don't keep very well. They are great just out of the oven, but I really don't like them much after they've been sitting. Even later the same night they didn't taste nearly as good. I'll stick with making a half batch from now on unless I'm having people over and need a full batch.

Cami's Chipotle Chicken Nachos

These are so tasty! I love that they have a spicy kick at the end but it doesn't overpower the other flavors. The avocado cream was so perfect and good. I'll have to make another batch just to eat as a dip.

I wanted to make the mango salsa but the mango I bought was very far from ripe. I've never had such poor luck with mangoes before. I'll have to make it next time because it looks really good.

I served these with beans and rice. It was a great meal.

Melanie W.'s Chicken Chipotle Nachos

These nachos were super tasty! At first I was worried it wouldn't be enough food to fill us up for the main meal, but I was wrong! As you can see, I made up a HUGE plate and ended up eating only half of it. I liked how cute the individual nacho chips looked, and I started out doing that by scooping the chicken mix onto each chip. But then I got hungry and impatient and decided to just glob on the avocado cream and mango salsa rather than add it to each chip. And it still tasted yummy!!

I had never made anything with chipotle peppers before, though I love chipotle! I need to add more chipotle recipes to our menus, so Danielle I just may have to get that cookbook! We like food spicy around here, so I threw in two peppers and still didn't think it was too hot. It was perfect. I loved the avocado cream and the mango salsa. At first I wasn't going to make the salsa but then I just happened to have both a mango and a red pepper on hand, uncommon for me! I'm glad I made it because the sweet mango was a nice compliment to the spicier chicken. Instead of fresh jalepeno pepper I just used a few slices from a jar. I like those better anyway.

I would love to make this again, but it's not something you can easily make when you're in a hurry as it took quite a bit of time to chop everything, prepare, and scoop onto the chips. I do think it would make an excellent appetizer for a gathering if you're looking for something nice and different.

Updated Nacho recipe

Hey everyone. LuAnn brought to my attention a mistake in the recipe I posted. I accidentally left cumin out of the ingredients (although it was included in the instructions). Sorry! The recipe calls for 1 tsp. cumin to be added to the chicken mixture. The recipe below has been updated.

Nacho Pictures

So I don't normally take photos of dinner foods, but I do actually have some photos of the nachos that I took awhile back. These were taken before I discovered the mango salsa.

Chicken Chipotle Nachos with Avocado Cream and Mango Salsa

[Sorry, this is an extraordinarily long post!]


This recipe comes from Seasonal Southwest Cooking. I can't recommend this cook book highly enough! It's amazing! Everything I've tried out of it is incredible, and I cook out of it at least a couple of times every week. Buy it! You'll love it! (Unless you don't like chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. Because 90% of recipes in the book call for it.)

Anyway, this recipe is my favorite.

Chicken Chipotle Nachos with Avocado Cream and Mango Salsa

Chipotle Chicken:
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 - 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped (stick with 1 unless you can handle a lot of heat)
3 tsp. finely chopped red onion
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1.5 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese

Avocado Cream:
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
2 Tbsp. sour cream
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Mango Salsa:
1 mango, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper
1 jalapeno chile
1/4 c. findely chopped red onion
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. grated lime zest
salt and pepper to taste

Tortilla chips (as many as needed)

To prepare mango salsa, combine all salsa ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Let stand one hour to allow flavors to mellow.

With an electric mixer, cream together the cooked chicken, cream cheese, chipotle, red onion, garlic, cumin, and shredded cheese. Mix well.

Prepare the avocado cream. In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat broiler. Evenly spread each chip with a generous amount of the chicken mixture. Arrange chips on baking sheet and broil about 3 minutes away from the heat until puffed and golden. Transfer nachos to a platter and top each with a teaspoon of avocado cream. Serve warm.

NOTES:

1. The recipe in the book doesn't actually include the mango salsa. I got it from another recipe in the book, but I love it on these nachos. You can do without it if you don't have time to make it or don't want to buy the ingredients, but I highly recommend it. You could also do without the avocado cream if you want to just have the salsa on them instead. But you need something to go with the chicken.

2. This makes a TON of nachos! I usually make the full batch and make as many nachos as we want and then keep the rest of the chicken mix in the fridge. It's super easy to throw together once you've got the chicken mix made, so we usually end up eating it for lunch for a few days until it's gone.

3. I never strictly follow the recipe for the avocado cream (in fact, the ingredients for the avocado cream above have already been altered by me). For the avocado cream I usually just mash up an avocado, add a spoonful of sour cream, squeeze half a lime into it, and add as much cilantro, salt, and pepper and I think looks good. You can adjust any of the ingredients to your liking.

4. I also never follow the recipe for the salsa. I just chop up veggies till it looks right in proportion. And I never use more than half of a jalapeno. And I usually forget to add lime zest. It tastes good however you make it!

5. If you have thin tortilla chips, keep an eye on them while they bake. Thin chips can burn before the chicken mix is hot enough.


Do you have any pet peeves?
Too many unfortunately... One thing I hate is when a store or restaurant is either out of or discontinues one of my favorite things. Especially if I'm really craving something. So disappointing.

Any other hobbies besides being an amazing cook?
Running, photography, reading, and wasting time on the internet. :)

What is your favorite summer activity?
As a kid it was swimming but I don't get to do much of that these days. This summer it has been sitting on the porch in the sun reading a good book.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Neither. I'm an eight-hours-of-sleep kind of person. Although I try not to stay up too late so I can get up at a decent time.

Are you a go-go-go sight-seeing kind of vacationer or lie-on-the-beach-all-day kind of vacationer?
I definitely lean towards lying on the beach. Mmmmm... Mexico...

What is your favorite store?
Two favorites -- Anthropologie (clothing) and Wegman's (groceries). Oh how I miss Wegman's!

What is your favorite beverage?
Water, but when I'm letting myself live a little, I like flavored lemonades and limeades.

If you had to go back to school, what would your major be?
Photography