Buffalo Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• 2 pounds chicken breast diced small or ground
• 1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large Onion chopped
• 3 ribs celery finely chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic chopped
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup hot sauce (up to 1/2 cup depending on how hot you like it)
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 14-oz can corn chips; yellow white, or blue (blue prefered)
• 3/4 pound blue cheese crumbled
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves chopped

Instructions

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 chicken. Brown it, using the back of a wooden spoon to break it up in to small pieces, about 5-6 minutes. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
4. While the chili is simmering, spread the yellow and blue corn chips out 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. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.
5. Top each serving of buffalo chicken chili with a few blue cheese-topped corn chips.