Bottle Cap Chili (really Chunky Chicken Chili)

Some recipes have a story that must be told. There's always surprises when you are cooking in bulk and the last time I made Chuky Chicken Chili, that was certainly the case. And so now we have another recipe that we had to rename. :)

Last fall, I made a big batch of this chili for the group. I asked DH to please dump the beer into the pot so that it can finish cooking. He gladly did so, but in the process of doing that, he dropped a cap into the pot. Makes you wonder if all the beer made it into the pot? He figured we could fish it out when we were packing the chili for the freezer. uh-huh. Try to remember to do that after a couple hours of crazy bulk cooking! Naturally he forgot until the meals were well into the freezer. I was mortified! We had new people in our group that might not find this so humorous. So at the meeting, I jokingly said that whoever finds the bottle cap in their chili will get my last pan of a dish that was a total disaster (won't even feed it to the dog criteria. Yes, there are some of those and we have to joke about them!). A few days later Tina called to tell me that she was the winner! lol

So here's the recipe for you. It came from my friend Mer who is a wonderful cook and used to be a freezer cooking cohert with me 6 years ago! Thanks for the great recipe, Mer!

Bottle Cap Chili

1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 - 10 oz can Rotel
2 - 15 oz cans black beans with the liquid
1 - 15 oz plus 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 - 12 oz. bottle of beer
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cummin seed
1 T chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
olive oil

Heat oil, saute chicken, add garlic, pepper, onions & cummin. Simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, oregano, rotel, tomato sauce, and beer. Cover and simmer 20 mins. Add beans, simmer a bit longer.

(note: when I make this in bulk, I put the chicken in the slow cooker, covered with salsa. Then I shred the chicken. I still saute the veggies but add the chicken to the pot after they are finished. and this recipe makes a lot!!!)

And don't worry, bottle caps are not included in this batch!