Hawaiian Chicken Chili

The weather here has been a little crazy. It went from feeling like summer, to feeling like spring, back to feeling like summer.  Since it was kinda cold a few nights ago, I thought some chili would be good. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and decided to try it. There are soooo many different kinds of chili you can make. The possibilities are endless. We've had chicken chili before but not like this. I wasn't sure about the pineapple but it's actually pretty good.  If you like hawaiian chicken pizza, you will probably enjoy this.


Ingredients
1-2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast (I used a little over a pound since that was all I had left)
Barbeque sauce (for marinating chicken)
2 Tbsp butter, divided
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp sugar
1 (20 oz ) can pineapple chunks (or tidbits if you don't want big pieces)
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans,drained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (16 oz jar) salsa (I used pace brand in mild)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1.Place chicken in large ziplock bag and squeeze in your favorite barbeque sauce. I didn't measure, just used enough to coat all the chicken. Let marinate in the fridge for 30 mins to an hour.
2.Melt 1 Tbsp of butter in skillet and add chicken. Cook until chicken is browned and cooked through. Cut into bite size pieces and than transfer to large pot.
3. In same pan, add remaining Tbsp of butter and cook onions, garlic, and bell pepper for about 5 minutes or until onion is softened.
4. Stir in the the tomato paste, all of the spices, vanilla, and sugar. Cook for another 2 minutes or so and transfer to same large pot as chicken
5. Drain the pineapple and reserve the juice.
6. Add the juice, beans, tomatoes, and salsa to the large pot
7. Simmer for about an hour or so and add the pineapple about 15 minutes before you want to eat

Serve with green onions, oyster crackers, and cheese if desired.



Recipe Source: adapted from Allrecipes.com