Finally! White Chicken Chili Recipe...

Sorry for the delay folks - I had some serious road blocks last week that prevented me from posting this recipe sooner. Things like snowshoeing, eating at new Japanese restaurants (pics and review to come), visiting my nephew in the cities, riding around in plow trucks, making homemade spaghetti sauce, joining Yoga classes and watching the Vikings choke really impeded my progress. BUT - at long last, here is the recipe for White Chicken Chili that you have all been waiting for (given to me by my friend Danielle and complete with my changes at the bottom, of course!):

Danielle's White Chicken Chili 

 

Ingredients:
6 marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts (see preparation below)

3/4 cup Lime Juice

Zest of 1 Lime

2 Tbs. Minced Garlic

3 Tbs. Butter or Olive Oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 large onion finely chopped

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tbs. Chili Powder

1 tsp. Ground Cumin

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 Tbs. Cracked Black Pepper

1 Tbs. Kosher Salt

4-5 cans Great Northern Beans (mostly drained)

2 (4-ounce) cans mild Green Chiles

1 (4-ounce) can Jalapenos (if desired)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, for garnish

3 Tbs. Chopped Parsley leaves, for garnish

1 bag Tortilla Strips, for garnish

 

 

Method:

As many as 3-24 hours before, marinade the chicken breasts in minced garlic, zest of 1 lime and lime juice. Cube chicken and saute in Dutch Oven with 3 Tbs. Butter or Olive Oil until cooked through and tender.  Remove chicken and set aside in a bowl.  In same Dutch Oven, add 1 Tbs. Olive Oil and saute onions for a few minutes.  Stir in the green chiles and add the flour and 1 Tbs. Minced Garlic.  Add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan and stir in the heavy cream.  Lower heat and cook until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.  Once the sauce has thickened, add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne, black pepper and the salt.  If desired, add Jalapenos.  Stir and cook for a few minutes.  Add the Great Northern Beans and the chicken and simmer for another 6-8 minutes.  Transfer to a serving bowl or crock pot.   Serve with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and tortilla strips.    

* I used already cooked turkey left over from the giant 20 lb turkey we made the day before. I still marinaded it for a few hours in the lime (the lime makes this dish - trust me!) and then just dumped it in to the chili towards the end. 

* I'm sure you'll be surprised about this one...I substituted half-n-half and a little 1% milk for the heavy cream. 

* After all the ingredients were in the pot, I found the chili to be too thick for my liking (after all, it only calls for 3 cups of liquid total...1 cup cream, 2 cups stock), so I added more chicken stock (you could also just use broth), more milk (probably should have used more half-n-half but I was out), and an extra squeeze of lime (but taste it first to decide if you really want to add more lime - I am a lime-lover so it was a good decision for me). After that, taste it and add more seasonings if necessary. 

* Don't be a sissy - use jalapenos. It's still chili for Pete's sake! 

* Instead of Tortilla strips for garnish, crush up some Nacho Cheese Doritos. Oh yumyumyumyumyum. It doesn't look quite as nice as the strips, but it tastes amazing. That tip is courtesy of Steve!

* Obviously, this is not a low fat dish. Take your dog for an extra long walk after eating this.  

* Enjoy!