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; 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

Kyle's White Chicken Chili

"Kyle made a BANGING white chicken chili recepie he can send you if u want". 

I got this text from Mickey the other day - and of course I wanted the recipe, duh. Made it for dinner and yep, it's really good! His recipe wasn't clear on amounts so I winged it, do the same depending on how much of the spices sound good to you. I used 4 cans of beans, 1 can of mild green chilies, 1 teaspoon of all the dried spices, 3 bay leaves, 8 ounces of shredded monterey jack cheese, a big handful of chopped cilantro - and no tabasco. Change it up however you want!

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI: 

Sauté one large onion and 4-5 garlic cloves in olive oil/ butter. Or a little of both. 

Add in salt, pepper, quite a bit of cumin, coriander, paprika, bay leaves, and red pepper. continue to sauté until onions and garlic are tender.   

Add a cup of chicken stock and simmer. Add two glass jars of white northern beans undrained. 

Use a rotisserie chicken, remove skin and break apart meat and add to pot.(you can bake your own chicken and use that as welll)

Stir everything good. 

Add a block of Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro, and two cans of green chilis. 

That's it! Asadero cheese is good on top. As is crushed tortilla chips. You can also add a little tobasco as well depending on how you like the spice!😅

Crock Pot White Chicken Chili

Made this for Sunday Supper and it was a hit (and it was SO easy, I do enjoy that)! I've never made white chicken chili before - my neighbor Midge makes a good one but I can't find her recipe so I googled away until I found one that looked good, had directions for making in the crock pot, and had good reviews.

I followed the recipe other than doubling most of the ingredients - which ended up making way more than we needed of course (I didn't want to chance it though!).

Using our friend Steve's technique for freezing soup, I put the extra in a large gallon ziplock bag, squeezed out the air, labeled it, then put it in the freezer totally flat. After it's frozen you can stack the bags or stand them up, really a great space-saving tip.

I thought I would have to remove the whole chicken breasts from the chili before serving to shred it all, but it just fell apart almost by itself when I gently took a fork and broke it apart. 

• 1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
• 2 (15 oz.) cans Great Northern or Navy beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1 (15 oz.) can hominy or white corn, drained
• 1 (1 1/4 oz.) envelope taco seasoning
• 1 (4 1/2 oz.) can chopped green chilies
• 1 (10 3/4 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth

Optional toppings:

• 1/2 cup sour craem
• chopped green onion
• shredded monterey jack cheese

• • Place chicken in a 4 quart slow cooker.
  • Top with beans and corn.
  • In a medium bowl, combine taco seasoning, chiles, condensed soup, and chicken broth. Pour over top of ingredients in the crock pot.
  • Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
  • Before serving, stir gently to break up chicken, then stir in the sour cream.
  • Serve topped with green onions and jack cheese, if desired.

  Recipe found here. I found white beans with chili seasoning already added so I used 4 cans of them, 2 cans of corn, 1 envelope of taco seasoning, 1 can of green chilies, 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, almost 3 pounds of chicken, and 28 ounces of broth. Stirred in 1 cup of sour cream before serving.