You need to warm up. Thunder Bay weather has been rude lately… that kind of cold where your eyelashes freeze together and your nose doesn’t even drip anymore because you have little icicles hanging from your nostrils. So, if you’re looking for something that’ll thaw you out from the inside, I’ve got you: Buffalo Chicken Chili. It’s cozy, it’s creamy, it’s got that Buffalo kick, and it basically hugs you back. Let’s warm up together!

Ingredients

• 1 ½–2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cans (15 oz each) white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire‑roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup low‑sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
• ½ cup Buffalo wing sauce (more if you want it spicy)
• 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder (I love the roasted garlic powder from Epicure)
• ½ teaspoon celery salt
• ½ teaspoon dried dill
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (use 2% or full fat…fat free will curdle)
• Optional toppings: blue cheese, feta, green onions

Instructions

• Add everything to the slow cooker except the cream cheese and yogurt.
• Tuck in the chicken in so it cooks evenly.
• Cook on LOW 4–6 hours or HIGH 2–3 hours until the chicken hits temp (165°F (74°C) at the thickest part of the meat)
• Shred the chicken and stir it back in.
• Blend a little bit of the chili with an immersion blender to thicken (optional but great).
• Add the cream cheese and let it melt for 15-20 minutes.
• Temper the Greek yogurt with a bit of warm chili liquid, then stir it in. *(see notes)
• Taste, adjust heat, and serve with your favourite toppings.

NOTES: *When a recipe tells you to “temper the Greek yogurt with a bit of warm chili liquid,” it’s just a gentle way of making sure the yogurt doesn’t curdle when it hits the heat. Cold yogurt going straight into a hot pot can seize up and turn grainy, so instead, you warm it up slowly.

You do that by taking a spoonful or two of the hot chili, stirring it into the yogurt until it loosens and warms, and then adding that mixture back into the pot. The result is a smooth, creamy finish instead of little yogurt clumps floating around.

SUGGESTION: Serve with lime nacho chips crushed on top or on the side to scoop in! SO delicious!

So there you go… the perfect antidote to Thunder Bay’s “why is the air attacking me” weather. This Buffalo Chicken Chili is cozy, creamy, a little fiery, and exactly what you want waiting for you after a day of skating across your driveway. It’s one of those recipes that earns a permanent spot in the winter rotation: easy to make, even easier to reheat, and guaranteed to thaw you out faster than standing over a heat register in your socks.

If you try it, let me know how much Buffalo sauce you went with…because around here, we measure spice the same way we measure windchill: dramatically.