Southwestern Chicken (quick & easy - like Turkey Chili but a little more veggie focused)

I ate this at my old nanny’s home. It was such a pleasure to see her in action - when she worked for me I spent a lot of time teaching her cooking techniques. I asked her for this recipe - it’s really an easy way to get the taste of the turkey chili in about 1/4 of the time.

Ingredients

1.5 lbs boneless & skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 medium bell peppers, different colors, diced

1 cup corn - frozen or fresh

2 medium zucchini, diced

12 oz glack beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Toppings (optional): shredded cheese, sour cream or yogurt, jalapenos, chopped cilantro, hot sauce, dijon mustard

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat

2. Add onions, peppers and garlic and saute for 2- 3 minutes

3. Add zucchini, corn, beans and cook while stirring for a few more minutes

4. Move veggie mixture to a side of the skillet and add chicken

5. Sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, pinch of salt, ground pepper

6. Cook chicken until no longer pink inside and golden brown - about 5 - 7 minutes

7. Once chicken is cooked, stir well to combine

8. Add cherry tomatoes. cook briefly. If you want, you can add the cheese on top now so it’s nice & melted.

Serve with toppings on side.

Enjoy!

Optional: I like to make roasted zucchini on baking sheets. If you want to add a little more crunch to the dish. you could make additional zucchini by roasting it in the oven and serving it on the side = almost like a crouton topping. I’m also a huge fan of slow roasted tomatoes and these would be a good addition as well.