Buffalo Chicken Chili

Happy 2013! I'm really looking forward to sharing new recipes with you this year. For me, 2012 was a great year, despite the major surgery that kept me from blogging for several months. I am having part 2 of the surgery this spring, but hopefully I will be a little more prepared and have some recipes scheduled to post while I am away. Also, since I know what to expect, hopefully this surgery will go a lot smoother!

Also this year I got into and started nursing school! I absolutely love it, but it keeps me on the go all the time. The new semester starts in a couple weeks, but hopefully I won't completely disappear like I did last semester!

This recipe incorporates one of my favorite foods: buffalo chicken! I love it, but I don't eat it all that often. For the hot sauce in this recipe, I uses sriracha, because I love it. It is loaded with sodium, though. Feel free to use your favorite hot sauce in this recipe!

Buffalo Chicken Chili
Barely adapted from Closet Cooking

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth (I used Trader Joe's)
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drains
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup hot sauce
salt to taste
blue cheese, if desired (extra points)

Instructions
1. Cook ground chicken in a medium pan and set aside.

2. In a large pot, heat oil; add carrot, celery and onion and cook until softened, about 15 minutes; add garlic and cumin and cook for 1 minute; add chicken broth to deglaze.

3. Add chicken along with tomatoes, paprika, oregano, cayenne and hot sauce; add salt to taste; simmer for 15 minutes; before serving, top with blue cheese if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 299
Fat: 5
Carbohydrates: 32
Fiber: 8
Protein: 30
Sodium: 1001
Points+: 7