My chicken "chili"/-helper experiment. You know what? It didn't turn out half bad. I am definitely going to do this again.
And for the record, I went with the oatmeal. Once I had the idea, I just had to try it. I doubt it would work in large quantities, but in the quantity that I needed (just to soak up a <5% overage of liquid), I think it came out perfect. I also did add olives, which made it smell like spaghetti sauce again, so had to add more chili pepper seasoning until it smelled like chili again.
Gonna have to add beans next time.