WHEN IT'S CHILLY, IT'S CHILI

You might have noticed that there's no photo of this warming bowl of chili. That's because I had to take my new camera back today and they had no more of that model. What's even worse is that though I tried another battery in it when it wouldn't turn on and off, it now seems that I may have had 2 defective batteries. But, I digress.

In going through my old file of WW recipes, I happened upon one for chicken taco chili. Clearly this seemed appealing when I printed it off who-knows-how-many years ago, though I'd never made it. It was even more appealing now since I am in my slow cooker phase. A closer examination revealed it was from what is now one of my favorite blogs, Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes. So, it's been a long time coming. I made some very minor changes to the recipe and those changes are reflected in the recipe that follows.

If the chicken barley stew was easy, this was child's play. Assemble the ingredients, open a few cans, and dice an onion. That's it! The results were the most incredible aroma, a vat of spicy, flavorful, fiber-rich chili, and lots and lots of leftovers.

10 Servings, 10 oz per serving, 4 WW pts per serving
1 onion, chopped
1 - 16 oz can black beans
1 - 16 oz can kidney beans
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 - 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (I used the fire roasted with garlic; don't like the ones with chilies)
1 pkg frozen corn kernels
1 packet taco seasoning (I used the spicy one)
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cilantro
24 oz (3 large) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
OPTIONAL: chopped chili peppers

Combine the onion, beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, corn, taco seasoning, cumin, chili powder, and cilantro in a slow cooker. Mix well. Place the chicken breasts on top, cover, and cook on high for 6 hours (or on low for 10). One half-hour before the dish is done, remove the chicken and shred, then return to crockpot for the last half hour of cooking.
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TASTE NOTES
I am not a chili aficionada; I'll tell you that up front. Having said that, I really enjoyed this meal. It was filling with just a salad on the side. I served Larry's over rice and with some shredded, low fat Cabot cheddar cheese on top. I had so much leftover that I froze half. We'll enjoy an encore performance on Wednesday with some homemade cornbread. I will definitely make this again and treat some friends to a ready-made meal at the same time.