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I love giving out "her" recipe to others, and I especially love it when the recipe fulfils a dietary need someone might have. Chicken taco chili is a staple in bff's family since it's mostly gluten-free/lower in gluten. and she, and other family members, can't have a lot of carbs. And now it's going to be a staple in the menu rotation of my co-worker "B" (the one I love, the one with big grandma energy) an dher husband. We were talking one night several weeks ago about chili and I shared the chicken taco chili recipe with B. She thought it sounded good but was concerned about not draining and rinsing the beans; she thought the recipe would have too much starch if she didn't rinse them. So I told her to go ahead and rinse the beans (except for the baked beans) but if she did, be sure to replace the amount of liquid drained with the liquid of her choice.

Yesterday, B came in and made a beeline (no pun intended) for me. She couldn't wait to tell me she'd made the recipe for her husband the night before and he absolutely LOVED it. He loves Mexican-inspired food but after a bout with oral cancer a few years ago, he cannot eat spicy foods (he still has some tender spots in his mouth). This recipe was perfect, according to B. She told me she *did* drain and rinse the beans but she carefully measured the liquid drained (about 4 cups) and replaced it with chicken broth and all was good. She said her favorite part was the ranch dressing mix; it added that extra umami, in her opinion.

I was inspired to make chicken taco chili for lunch today. Sadly, I had to take it out of regular rotation; the canned beans plus seasonings are a bit too high in sodium for Dad. Once I made the recipe using only no-salt added beans and corn and made a facsimile of low-sodium vegetarian baked beans. I also bought some no-salt-added ranch seasoning on Amazon--it was TERRIBLE--and made a no-salt-added taco seasoning. The chili was...not good. Even a spicier salsa couldn't save the recipe. The version I made today had no-salt added cannellini beans and no-salt added pinto beans* because that's what I had in the cupboard, and it tasted fine but I still told Dad to go easy on the portion and maybe have a very low sodium dinner to counter the chili. Honestly, I think the recipe would be fine with no-salt-added beans and corn but you need the sodium in the ranch mix (I've long since switched to a lower sodium taco seasoning).

* like B's husband, Dad loves Mexican food. But canned refried beans are loaded with salt, so I go to Whole Foods and buy no-salt-added pinto beans (WF is the only place I can find them in a can; I'm too lazy to buy dried beans and soak them overnight <g>), which I then dress up with a ton of chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion powder and some of Penzey Spice's no-salt Mural of Flavor, which is the BOMB. I've actually grown to like my dressed up pinto beans more than refried beans and now when I eat "regular" refried beans, I often find them way too salty.