Chicken Enchilada Chili

Currently I'm doing a weightloss program called The Liberation Diet that falls in line with the principles set forth by the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Real Food Movement. The Liberation Diet is a very low carb diet that focuses on good quality high fats and oils. When I first was reading some of the literature it was quite mind blowing to see how the journey our culture took to leave behind butter, lard, ghee and other quality, vitamin-rich fats for the likes of margarine, soy-oils, canoloa and vegetable oils. If you follow the history it is all about making money and marketing.

For instance, the makers of Crisco were just trying to find a way to get rid of their industrial sludge leftover from making candles. Some one along the way thought it looked like lard (not too unlike the time my very own Mema thought she could substitute a bay leaf for basil in a pasta dish since they were both leaves and started with ba... they might have looked similar but they were definitely NOT similar!) This person took this lard look alike and baked a pie with it. Surprisingly it worked out okay and tasted okay. Viola! A new (cheaper) oil was introduced to the market. What they didn't know then was that it is very damaging to humans in a very slow and unapparent way. For more of the whole story on Crisco, please see: The Rise and Fall of Crisco. Here is a link that talks about fats in depth, with several other informative links at the bottom of their page: Know your Fats

Well back to my recipe... I love mexican food! I often have made burritos and quesidallas and other tex-mex delights. But since I'm going low carb, I needed to find a way to have my favorite flavors without the tortilla. Then the other day when I was picking up my Kombucha scoby from Nicole she had a dish similar to this bubbling away on her stove. I told her I wanted the recipe but since she left for vacation the very next day she hasn't had time to post. So I made something up myself.
-Amanda

Chicken Enchilada Chili

2 tbsp ghee or butter
1/2 onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 cans of organic fire roasted tomatoes
1-2 pablano or other favorite chili
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch (or more) of red chili flakes
sea salt
2 chicken breasts, previously cooked*

cheese sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1.5-2 cups whole milk (I use raw milk)
1.5-2 cups lightly packed shredded cheddar cheese
sea salt
pepper

Make cheese sauce first, in a medium size pot, melt butter. When butter is melted, add whole wheat flour and whisk until all of the flour is wet. Continue to whisk to cook the flour a bit. Add milk a little bit at a time. Start with just a splash and whisk lumps away. Add a little bit more and keep whisking keeping lumps away. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Add cheese and continue to whisk until sauce has thickened and cheese melts. Set aside, keeping warm.

In a large skillet melt ghee or more butter. Dice an onion into small pieces and add to butter. Chop garlic and add it to the onions. Chop chili peppers and add them. I like to add my spices at this time to toast them and make them more flavorful before adding liquids. So add the cumin, oregano, red chili flakes, sea salt and pepper. At this point the onions should start to be soft and brown bits may be accumulating on the bottom of the skillet. Open tomatoes and add them. When the tomatoes start to come to a boil, take a ladle and ladle some of the tomato-onion mixture into the cheese sauce to temper it. Stir it into the cheese and add a few more ladles of tomatoes. Then pour all of the cheese sauce into the tomato sauce. Add diced chicken and cook until warmed through. Serve with fresh guacamole and organic sour cream.

*If you don't have any chicken cooked, you can add raw chicken in after the onions, just be careful not to overcook when you bring the tomatoes to a boil.