Buffalo Chicken Chili

We had this for dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD! I used the full half cup of hot sauce and even Alex liked it! (Although Seth gave him horseradish the other day and he told Seth it was "yummy for his tummy" so I don't think there's much he wouldn't like.) I didn't do the blue cheese corn chip thing because I don't like blue cheese. We topped it with a bit of grated cheddar and crumbled chips into it. DELISH! Thanks Rachael Ray!

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 tablespoon butter
2 pounds all-white meat ground chicken breast or chicken breast chopped into bite-size pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
5 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
1/4-1/2 cup hot sauce
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 7-ounce bag yellow corn chips
1 7-ounce bag blue corn chips
3/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled, recommended type Maytag Blue
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Preheat oven to 375°F or broiler to medium.

Place a large pot over medium-high heat, add 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon, and the butter. Once the butter has melted and the pot is hot, add the ground chicken. Brown it, using the back of a wooden spoon to break it up in to small pieces, about 5-6 minutes. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7-8 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come together.

While the chili is simmering, spread the yellow and blue corn chips out on a cookie sheet. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and transfer to the oven to melt the cheese, about 4-5 minutes. If using the broiler, 2-3 minutes should do the trick. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Top each serving of buffalo chicken chili with a few blue cheese-topped corn chips.