Spicy Chicken & Sausage Chili

Football season means Saturdays on the couch/in a bar with friends for college games and Sundays on the couch/in a bar with friends for NFL games. It also means lots and lots of wings, wings, wings...

Wing fatigue does exist. And $0.50 per wing still adds up over the weekend. Enter Spicy Chicken & Sausage Chili. This will feed a small army a delicious meal on the cheap. Up the spice level with more red pepper flakes to your liking and do not forget the tortilla chips to help shovel it all into your mouth!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb dried great northern or navy beans or mixtjure of both
1 qt chicken stock
1 TBSP vegetable oil
6-8 oz spicy Italian sausage
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces,  seasoned with salt & pepper
1 large onion, diced
2 poblano peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz beer lager or pilsner
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 TBSP ancho chili powder
2 tsp cumin
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried red pepper flakes, optional

Soak 1 lb of great northern or navy beans in water for 6 - 8 hours or overnight. Bring chicken broth to the boil over high heat and add in the beans. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes. 

Heat a large pot over high heat for 1 minute. Add in the vegetable oil and spicy Italian sausage. Brown the sausage breaking the meat into small crumbles. Add in the chicken and brown until just cooked through. Drain off all but 1 TBSP of fat with a paper towel. 

Add in the onion and poblano peppers along with a pinch of Kosher salt. Sweat the mixture for 7 minutes scraping the bottom occasionally of any brown bits. Add in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute stirring often.

Pour in the beer scraping the bottom of the pot of any bits. Add the Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, ancho chili powder, ground chipotle pepper, cumin, cinnamon, brown sugar, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and a bay leaf.

Pour in the chicken stock and bean mixture along with the can of diced tomatoes with green chilies. Bring the chili to a simmer over high heat. Once to the simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover loosely, and continue to simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Finish up by smashing some of the beans with a potato masher to thicken the chili with the starch from the beans.

Top with sour cream & green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.