Food you can USE // White Chili Recipe

One of our favorite meals around here is White Chili. It doesn't matter if it's the "dead of winter" (a laughable phrase here in Florida), or the intense heat of summer, we tend to enjoy it all year long. It is easy to enjoy it too, as it has some pretty simple ingredients.  I used to make this all from canned and premixed ingredients, but now I've upped my game and I use homemade or from-scratch ingredients when I can.

If you've tinkered in real food for a while, then you know that roasting a chicken and making stock from the bones renders several benefits.  The collagen in the broth (from the bone stock) helps several systems and functions in your body, and the broth helps your digestive tract. Not only is it good for helping you when you're sick, it's also great for keeping you from getting sick. Win-Win.

You might also know that soaking and cooking dry beans is also highly encouraged in traditional food prep, for lots of reasons. If you soak and cook your own white beans, then they will be ready to use in this recipe (instead of using canned).

And if you still have leftover chicken from roasting a chicken, you can throw it in this chili!  I love using something from the beginning to the end and feeling like I really got some use out of it.  Sometimes food bloggers say things like, "Roast a chicken for dinner, make stock overnight with the bones, then throw the leftover chicken in enchiladas or a chicken pot pie," as if it were really intuitive.  That intuition for me is gradually growing, but for a newbie, I could see how that would not be intuitive. But in this recipe, all you really need is your leftover chicken, diced up (and estimate at what 1lb is).

Here's the recipe, courtesy of my friend Angie (my notes are italicized):

White Chili

1 lb chicken, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp vegetable oil - I omit this or sub coconut oil
2 cans (15 ½ oz) northern white beans, drained - or 2-3 cups of soaked, cooked white beans
1 can chicken broth - 14-15oz homemade chicken stock
2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies - canned food is usually not recommended because of BPA, but I haven't found a better substitute - has anyone else?
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
8 oz sour cream - I use Daisy brand, available at most grocery stores
½ cup whipping cream - I use fresh, raw/low-temp pasteurized cream if available

Cook chicken with onion, garlic powder and oil until chicken is cooked
thoroughly. Combine the rest of the ingredients (which includes the chicken) except the
creams in a medium stock pot. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue
to simmer for 30 minutes. Add the creams. Stir all together. Serve with tortilla chips
and sprinkle with cheese.
Serves: 6


Enjoy!