Marvie's Crochet Corner

Foodie Friday Returns!

Yes, finally, I have a Foodie Friday post for you, but I can't find my link to the cool button so you'll have to do without that this week ;) I was such a slacker while I was away, but in my defense, though I did cook there was nothing spectacular to share. I did discover that I am truly over boxed, processed crap foods after having cooked and eaten it for four months. So we are back to our regular diet of whole foods again.

Today's offering is my version of White Chicken Chili. I looked at a dozen recipes, but ended up just concocting my own version. So without further ado... I was going to say babbling, but I always babble ;)

For those of you who really need exact measurements, I apologize. When I make soups and such I just add to taste. We like a *lot* of garlic, but I'm not fond of onion so I don't use much of that, hubby likes his food to make him sweat but I'd prefer to keep my tastebuds intact... there are many factors to determine how much of these things to use. So go with your gut or what your family likes. If you're not comfy with that, I'd sugget 1/8 tsp of the spicy stuff (or maybe just a dash) and 1/4 tsp or so of the non spicy stuff. Also depends on how much you're making. A big old pot will want more of this and that than a small one. (see more babbling)

Ingredients:

Crock pot, skillet, assorted utensils.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 4)

One bag of white beans (great northern beans) soaked overnight

Chicken Broth (I used 12+cups) or water+bullion cubes

Garlic

Onion

Cumin

Tumeric (you can skip this one if you don't have it handy)

Oregano

Red Pepper flakes

Fresh ground black pepper

Chili powder, cilantro, green chilies (1 can) (these will all be added much later)

Monterey Jack Cheese

Tortillas

The recipe:

First soak those beans overnight. (Or if you're feeling lazy you can buy a couple of cans, I just don't use canned stuff any more than I can help) Next day, drag out your crock pot and set it up. Take your skillet, spray it with cooking spray, and put it on the stove, peel and chop up your garlic and onion and toss those in the skillet and saute them a bit.

Now dump that mess in the crock pot. Go get the pot of soaked beans, drain 'em out and rinse 'em. Dump them in the crock. Pour chicken broth over the beans (I think I used about 12 cups worth but I have a big crockpot) you'll want to have more liquid than the beans will soak up while they cook and you may need to add some more later. In my pot, that meant I had a good inch or two of liquid over those beans.

Now, start adding your seasonings. I don't measure for something like this, I just dump, sprinkle, etc. till it looks like enough. Give it all a good stir to mix the garlic and onion and seasonings all through. Cover, set on high and let cook for a couple of hours. How long you cook it and if you cook on high or low will depend on how early you start it. You need to cook it till the beans are nearly done before we move on to the next step. I got this turned on at noon, and I want to eat by 7 so I may leave it on high most of the afternoon. If you start it really early in the morning you can cook on high for an hour or so then switch it to low for the rest of the time.

Go crochet or knit something while you wait ;)

Now, here you need to make a choice. Do you want chunks of meat or do you want your chicken shredded? If you want it shredded, throw it in a pot with some broth and cook till done. Remove and let cool (save that broth in case you need to add to the crockpot liquid) then shred it to pieces.

If you want chunks, you can wait a little longer before you have to mess with the chicken. If you go with chunks, about an hour before you're ready to eat, heat up your skillet (while you cut up the chicken) and then toss the meat in and saute it for a few minutes till it's done. I can *not* cook meat of any sort without adding seasoning to it while I cook, so I'd probably toss in some more of those same seasonings we threw in the crock pot this morning. I might even toss in that can of green chilies at this point. You can do that, or just dump 'em in the crock along with the meat when it's done.

Now, go ahead and add the chili powder, (cayenne pepper too if you like, maybe some tobasco sauce and/or jalapenos, depends on how hot you like it) the cilantro, (and the green chilies if you haven't already) into the crockpot.

Cook for an hour or so on low.

Serve it up in bowls, throw some shredded Monterey Jack Cheese on top (you can also add a bit of chopped green onion, sour cream, salsa etc if you like) and give everyone a warm tortilla or two to go along with the chili.


You can also add some other meats to this if you like, ground pork and/or ground turkey would be yummy and make it more meaty (I just didn't have any on hand) You can use more or less beans, but since I only had chicken I used a lot of beans. I'd probably only use a half a bag of beans if I'd used more meat.

posted by Marvie at 5:17 AM