White Chicken Chili

We had so much good food at the ukulele hoedown last week - Al made his West African Peanut Soup (click here for that post - I know it sounds weird but ya gotta believe me this soup is killer), beef stew, and my sloppy joe recipe (click here for that post); I made sweet and tangy meatballs (will share later); Cathy's neighbor, Jane, made this white chicken chili that has white beans and light cream cheese in it to thicken and make it so creamy  - mmmmm, delish! I like it so much I asked for the recipe and if I could share - my neighbor Midge makes a good one but I lost her recipe, I have to put this one on the blog right away so I won't lose it too! This is so good I took leftovers home and had it for breakfast the next morning (I love leftovers for breakfast, doesn't matter what it is!).

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts , diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 small yellow onion , diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
• 1 (8 oz) pkg Neufchatel cheese, cut into 12 slices (aka light cream cheese)
• 1 1/4 cup fresh corn (frozen works too)
• 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• chopped fresh cilantro , for serving
• shredded Monterrey Jack cheese , for serving
• tortilla chips , for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a 6 quart enameled dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot add chicken and diced onion and saute until chicken is no longer pink, about 6 minutes.
2. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add chicken broth, green chilies, cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture just to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Add Neufchatel cheese and stir until nearly melted (it will break down in little bits and will appear to look like separated cheese but it will eventually melt).
4. Stir in corn, and 1 can of Cannellini beans, then process 3/4 of the remaining beans along with 1/4 cup broth from the soup in a food processor until pureed, add bean mixture to soup along with remaining 1/4 can of beans (you can skip the pureeing step and just add the beans directly to soup, the soup just won't be quite as creamy). 
5. Simmer about 15 minutes longer. Mix in fresh lime juice and serve with Monterrey Jack cheese, chopped cilantro and tortilla chips for dipping if desired.
6. Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
   
   6 servings 355 cals per serving