Poblano-Italian Sausage Chili

It was a cold rainy day in September and I wanted chili & cornbread for dinner.  It just so happened that a new issue of Cooking Light was in my mailbox that day with a new chili recipe to try! We had almost everything we needed to make it, except for the peppers, beans, and cilantro.  So we ran up to the Mexi Chopper and spent $6.55 (we bought jalapenos for cornbread & chocolate chunks for cookies too!).  I love going to the Mexi Chopper for peppers and produce because it is so cheap! Cilantro was $0.50 and the peppers were $1.00.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
8 oz chicken/pork mild Italian sausage with casings removed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 poblano chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock, divided
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes, not drained
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup light sour cream

*Adapted from Cooking Light- they call for a different kind of sausage, and salt free everything

Directions: 

1. Heat a large pan with canola oil.  Add onion & garlic and saute

 2. Remove casings from sausage, add sausage to pan.

 3. Stir in chili powder, oregano, cumin, poblanos, and bay leaf.  (Poblanos are big and green peppers, they took a while to dice! Thanks Erica!)

4. Cook until sausage is browned, stirring to crumble sausage. 

5. Add 1 cup stock, tomatoes, and beans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes. 

6. Combine flour and 2 tablespoons of chicken stock, stirring with a whisk to form a slurry. 

Note: I used context clues and prior knowledge to figure out that word, but in case you were wondering it is defined as  semiliquid mixture, typically of fine particles of manure, cement, or coal, and water. I also used a spoon instead of a whisk, because I didn't want to dirty another dish.

7. Add slurry to chili, stirring with a whisk.  Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened.  Remove from heat; stir in cilantro and black pepper. Discard bay leaf and serve with sour cream. 

Serve with cornbread! We added jalapenos and Mexican cheese to the Jiffy Mix.

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