chili | Balance and Blueberries

Wondering what to do with all of that chicken you roasted over the weekend?

Have I got the recipe for you!

White Chicken Chili

Adapted slightly from Cha Cha’s White Chicken Chili

You’ll need:

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cans (15 oz.) Great Northern beans, or equivalent amount of beans soaked overnight.
2 cans (4 oz.) green chili peppers
2 chopped or shredded chicken breasts
2 cups frozen corn
4 cups chicken broth
Cayenne pepper, cumin, and oregano

The steps:

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is translucent.
Add all ingredients to the crock pot. If you want your chili to be a bit thicker, reduce the amount of chicken broth and/or drain and rinse your beans before adding them.
Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Adjust based on how spicy you want it to be.
Depending on how long you intend to leave it in your crock pot, choose high or low, and leave it alone!
Top with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

If you’re interested… a french bread recipe and my favorite apple crisp.

Some dear friends of mine are moving out of their apartment and into their very own house today. Congratulations, friends! I volunteered to take them lunch, figuring this was as good of a time as any to try my hand at a pot of chili. I looked at a bunch of different recipes, and discovered that you really can’t go wrong when you’re making chili.

Chili

Based on this recipe

You’ll need:

1 tsp. EVOO
1.5 lbs ground beef (the lower the fat percentage, the better. I used 93/7)
1 1/2 cups diced onions
1 green bell pepper
1 jalepeno pepper
2-6 oz. cans of tomato paste
2 Tbls. chili powder (more if you like it really hot)
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2-15 oz cans of beans (1 drained, one not)
1 can diced tomatoes

Grocery shopping…the goods 🙂

Start by heating a large stew pot with a tsp. of olive oil in it. While it heats, dice your peppers and onions.

Give them a couple of minutes to simmer in the oil and then add the ground beef. Cover and cook meat until browned.

Add 2 cans of tomato paste and all the spices. Mix it up. Thoroughly. Add some water (still going for the look of thick chili, so don’t add too much), cover the pot, and let cook on low/simmer for 45 minutes.

Then, add the cans of beans and tomatoes. Mix it all up. Add water, if needed (depends how thick you want it to be), and cover. Let it simmer for at least another hour. The longer you let it cook, the more the flavors mix up. The happier you are.