Tuesday, January 17, 2012

White Chili

This chili is one of my all time favorite things to make and eat. In fact when we drastically changed the way we eat I was thinking how sad it would be to give this up. Then I got smart and looked at the recipe and realized I didn't have to give it up! It only needed a little tweaking. It isn't exactly a low calorie food with the cheese and beans but beans are quite good for you so I think this is a great recipe to use when you just need a little comfort food.

Guess what else? One. Pot. Meal. My very favorite kind of meal! So lets go in order so you can see how easy it is to just dump it all into the pot.

 Start with 2 onions chopped and 3 cloves of garlic minced and saute them in some olive oil for a couple minutes.

Add approximately 49 oz. of chicken broth. You can buy a can that size. I had an opened carton in the fridge and one other 32. oz carton so it was approximate.

Add one 7oz. can chopped green chilies and 6 cans of Great Northern Beans that have been drained but not rinsed.

Add 1 tsp. oregano and 2 tsp. ground cumin. Give it a stir.

While the pot is simmering grate an 8oz. brick of reduced fat pepper jack cheese. I like to do this on a paper towel so I can pick it up and dump it all in the pot. I had slow boiled 4 chicken breasts earlier in some garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and shredded them up also while the pot was simmering.

Add the chicken to the pot. Give it another stir. Let it simmer another 15 minutes or so. At this point I removed a bowl for each of the kids. They don't like pepper jack and I must admit it is a little spicy for the young ones. About 5 minutes before you are ready to serve this stir in the cheese.

Sit down and enjoy this delicious bowl of comfort with a salad on the side and no guilt. Just about anyone will love this recipe. Finish your bowl and celebrate that you only have one pot to clean up. Tonight I didn't even clean up my pot. I stuck the lid on it and put it in the fridge after it cooled down a little! Hooray for easy meals and easy clean up, right? Keep in mind that this makes a very large pot of chili so you may want to cut the recipe in half. Also if you like your chili a little thicker you should use less chicken broth. I love this without the sour cream so I rarely use that option but it helps to thicken the chili up as well. Enjoy!

Comment from my son tonight, "Thanks for that very delicious meal mom!" Those kinds of comments make all those dirty diapers I changed worth it! Love that kid.


White Chili
4-6 chicken breasts simmered on low so they don’t get tough. Shred when done
2 onions chopped
1 extra large can chicken broth (49oz.) low sodium
2 garlic cloves
6 cans Great Northern beans drained but NOT rinsed
2 cans chopped green chilies (4oz. cans)
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
2 cups reduced fat pepper jack cheese shredded
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Light sour cream (optional)

In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil.  Add chicken broth, cumin, oregano, beans, and chilies. Bring to a boil and simmer about 15 minutes. Add chicken, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes.  Before serving add ½ cup sour cream or just add dollop on each bowl.

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