White Chicken Chili…Heaven in a Bowl!

Right up front I’m going to say, I am not fond of chili. 

I know, I know!  That’s almost un-American, isn’t it?  I can eat a few bites of it but after that……blech!

For some reason, I guess perhaps because I knew we were in store for some cooler weather  this past weekend, white chicken chili popped into my head last week.  I have never had the opportunity to try  it so I turned to the internet to investigate what ingredients go into it.  Not so surprising, there are many variations.  I printed out several different recipes and combined the ingredients I thought my family and I would like best.

Oh! My! 

Where have you been all my life white chicken chili???  

This wasn’t chili;  it was heaven in a bowl!  I’ll definitely be making this again! 

If you don’t already have your own White Chicken Chili recipe, here’s what I came up with.

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

INGREDIENTS:

• Skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds)
• Olive oil to cook chicken in
• 1 stick of butter
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 8 oz. chicken broth (use a little less  if you want a thicker chili)
• 2 cups fat free half & half
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce (Tabasco, Crystal etc.)
• 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder (plus enough to season chicken before cooking)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 can (16 oz.) of Bush’s great northern beans, slightly drained
• 1 can (4 oz) chopped mild green chilies, drained
• 2 cans corn, drained
• 1 cup  shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a large skillet, heat a little olive oil over moderately high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper and a little chili powder. Cook in skillet until done and nicely browned. Remove chicken from skillet and when cool, chop or shred.

In the same skillet, cook chopped onion in 2 Tablespoons of butter until softened. Add minced garlic and set aside.

In a heavy pot large enough to hold all ingredients, melt 6 Tablespoons of butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Add chicken broth and half & half. Continue whisking until thickened. Stir in hot sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and cheese. Add onions, beans, chilies, chicken and corn. Cook over moderately low heat for about 20 minutes. (I skipped this step because I wasn’t serving it until the next day and planned to heat it in my crock pot for several hours instead.)