Bonnie's White Chili

Hiya Beave! So it turns out I'm not "prediabetic" as I had thought. The nurse told me I'm one point over normal. That's what I get for eating white rice with dinner the night before a blood test.

I'm still dedicated to finding recipes that incorporate the power foods recommended by the ADA. My old (circa 1986) White Chili recipe (which I derived from the awesome Family Circle Chicken Enchiladas in Cheese Cream recipe) has been a mainstay in our family, and is so popular it was even featured at a Dallas church Harvest Bazaar in the early 90s. Close inspection of the ingredients shows that it's very good for you! The combination of chicken and great northern beans with just the right spices and seasonings makes for a very tasty bowl of health. I decided to cook up a batch of our chili last weekend.

My original easy-peasy recipe calls for canned beans.
This time I decided to try and make my own.

I'm watching my sodium intake so I know that Bush's Great Northern beans are 460 mg per half cup and 230 mg per half cup "low sodium." Really, neither version are that bad. I wanted to eliminate that sodium (cut out the flavor as our son Ollie would say) by making my own beans from scratch. In the process I also decided to make my own green chiles, saving an additional 70 mg of sodium per two tablespoons. I also always use sodium free chicken bouillon when I cook. Read on to see the pictures of my process. And at the end of the post is my original, flavorful White Chili recipe from 1986.

Soak the beans in water overnight.

The next morning I cooked the beans according
to package directions.

Your trick: Poach the chicken along with chunks
of celery, carrot, and onion. Don't forget the
celery leaves!

The vegetables enhance the flavor of the chicken.
Leave the skin on during cooking.

I prefer to save the cooking broth for something else
because I don't want too many conflicting flavors in the chili.

After skinning and deboning the chicken I got about 3 1/2 cups
cubed meat from the original 2.4 lb package.

I decided last minute to make my own green chiles.
These are actually poblanos; no one had Anaheims in stock!

Slice and dice the boiled chiles. Taste one first;
if it's not hot enough leave in some seeds.

Drain the beans, add all ingredients to the pot and simmer
about an hour (tilt lid and stir occasionally).

When all was cooked and eaten I have to say that I need a lot more practice cooking dried beans. I followed the package directions carefully but the cooked beans weren't silky smooth like the ones you get in the can. Rather, mine were mealy and distracting in my white chili. Also I had to increase the salt several times to get the flavor right.  I'm sticking with my original recipe, below, from now on.

Bonnie's White Chili

Ingredients

2 21-ounce cans great northern beans

2 pounds chicken breasts (with skin and ribs), cooked and diced

1 large onion, diced

1 can chopped green chiles*

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon chili powder**

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, or 1 large clove garlic, minced

Procedure

Add all ingredients to a large pot and simmer with lid tilted for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. You want a thick consistency so let the liquid cook down somewhat. This is chili not soup!

Top with shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and serve with good tortilla chips.

Yields about 4 Texas-sized bowls. I always double the recipe to accommodate four (apparently starved) guys.

*Be careful not to buy chopped jalapenos! This changes the flavor considerably. If you decide to cook your own use Anaheim peppers (first choice) or Poblano (second choice), but not jalapenos. All green colored peppers are not alike.

**Beaver already knows this but our readers should be cautioned to not use chipotle chili power. Chipotle is a smoked pepper and you don't want that flavor in your chili! Also, if you know anything about chili you know that the 1 tablespoon chili powder is correct. Reducing the chili powder will turn your finished product into a nice, boring, chicken and bean stew. If you don't like chili, don't make chili.