Wednesday, February 20, 2008

.white chicken chili.


Tonight I was scrambling to think of something to fix for dinner. It was an insanely busy day today. The baby had her (late) 2 month appointment first thing this morning and got two shots. Poor thing. Happy to report she's in the 95th percentile for height and like the 97th or so percentile for weight. That's my girl! She was NOT thrilled with getting jabbed. She's been recouping by sleeping half the day.

After her appointment, I drove down to Fernandina Beach to meet up with my gal pals for lunch. Then I hit Target. Then back home to pick Miss Paige up from school and play piano for the Chorus Club after school.

I made some chicken broth the night I made Huli Huli Chicken and the only real thing to make with a bunch of broth is soup.

To make your own stock, take chicken (you can use chicken breasts, or if you have roast chicken, put the carcass in a pot. Add carrots, celery, onion, a bay leaf and some salt. Coat with water and put on the stove to simmer and reduce. Let it go as long as you can. The more it condenses, the richer the flavor. When it cools to room temp, pour into a bowl or a glass pitcher. Put in your fridge and chil completely. The fat in your broth will float to the top and solidify. This makes it really easy to spoon off and discard.

So I checked the pantry and I had all the ingredients to make White Chicken Chili.

Here are the items you'll need:
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • cooked chicken (you can use canned if you want)
  • veggies: onion, celery, garlic
  • 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
  • chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (found in the hispanic section of your grocery store)
  • 2 cans navy beans and 2 cans northern beans
  • spices: bay leaf, cumin, chili powder, salt & pepper
  • 4oz can diced green chilies

If you've never had anything with chipotle pepper, you're in for a surprise. It's got a smokey flavor that gives this chili a very unique flavor. A word of caution. Do NOT use too much. It's easy to go overboard and you'll wind up with a chili that's too hot to eat. Start with chopping up 1 pepper finely and if it's not hot enough, add a little more. I used 1 1/2 in mine tonight and it had some kick. Just the way I like it! (My sister, Marcia and mom would find it too hot though)


Chop your veggies -- finely chop the jalapeno, chop your onion, mince two cloves garlic, cut up 3 stalks of celery.






Heat up a little olive oil in a soup pot. When hot, put in all your veggies, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, and the 4oz can of diced green chilies. Cook this and stir until the onions and celery begin to soften.











Add 4 cups of chicken stock to your pot. Rinse the 4 cans of beans and add them too. Chop up one of those chipotle peppers and throw that in. Season generously with salt and pepper. You can also throw in your cooked chopped chicken. I used leftover chicken that was pulled from the carcass but it wasn't enough. So I used some canned chicken too.

Let this simmer on low for about an hour. If you like to use a crock pot, at this stage, I would put it in your pot and put on low heat to simmer all day. The longer this cooks, the better the flavor.

I like my chili with corn muffins. MMMmmm...


Printable version:

In a bowl, mix together:

1 1/4 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. cornmeal

In another bowl, mix together:

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. milk (I like to use half and half or whole cream)
1 egg




Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix only until it comes together. Don't overmix this! It doesn't need to be smooth. In fact, lumpy is GOOD!







Dump in about 1 to 1 1/2 c. frozen corn and mix in. Again, do NOT overmix.















Spoon into a muffin pan sprayed with Pam vegetable spray. Put in a 425* F oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. At that time, lower your oven to 350* F and let them finish baking.

Baking at a high temp forces the heat through the center of the muffin giving it that awesome muffin tops! That's a trade secret among bakers.... ;) (Now you know!)










Here's what your baked muffins will look like. I use my texas size muffin pan and get a yield of 6. If you use a regular muffin pan, you'll most likely get 12 if you only fill 1/2 way up.

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_11htvjzbcc

To serve your chili, ladle into the bowl and top with grated cheese, a dollop of sour cream and if you're trying to make an impression. Put some chopped cilantro on top. Gives it AWESOME fresh flavor.





4 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Oh my gosh, you made this soup the night that we did the Iron Chef thing at church. I LOVED it!!! So glad that I now have the recipe! Thanks!!!

Natalie said...

Mmm, sounds tasty! I just made some chipotle brownies. Sweet chocolaty with a little bit of burn. Inspired by some artisan chocolates from Boehms (Issaquah, WA.) I'n thinking I have a perfect main course to go with them now! Thanks Suzanne!
~Natalie

Little Hensley Fam said...

Suzanne,
I really have loved trying some of the recipes you've put on your blog.. thank you! When are you coming back to VA for a visit???
I hope it's soon! =)

Karalynn Tyler said...

Sounds yummy. I love white chicken chili but I must say my recipe (and I do have my own for this one!!!) is a little different. I'd love for you to try it out sometime. We have chili tuesdays at work through the winter and when I bring my white chicken chili it's the first pot gone. I'm giving you my recipe so you can give it a try sometime!
White Chicken Chili With Corn
Ingredients:
, 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1
1/2 pounds)
, butter or oil to cook chicken in
, 1 stick unsalted butter
, 1/4 c all-purpose flour
, 1 can chicken broth
, 2 cups fat free half and half
, 1 1/2 to 2 large onions, chopped
, 1 tsp Tabasco (you can always add more…)
, 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
, 1 tsp ground cumin
, 1/2 teaspoon salt
, 1/2 teaspoon pepper
, 16 oz or so of canned white beans (ex: Great
White beans & Butter Beans.)
, Two 4-oz cans chopped mild green chilies
, 2-3 cups of frozen corn
, 1 1/2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
, 1/2 cups light sour cream

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over moderately high heat and put
in some butter and oil. Meanwhile coat your chicken
with salt and pepper and maybe some chili powder.
Place in skillet and leave until nicely browned, then
flip them every few minutes until they are done.
Remove the chicken from the pan. When the chicken is
cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers and
set aside.
While waiting for chicken to cool, cook the onion in
the same pan with 2 Tbs of butter until softened.
In a heavy pot, large enough to hold all the
ingredients, melt remaining 6 Tbs of butter over
moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Whisk the two
together.
Stir in the onion and gradually add the broth and half
and half, whisking the whole time. Bring mixture to a
boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or
until thickened.
Stir in Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
Add beans, chilies, chicken and cheese, and cook over
moderately low heat, stirring occasionally for 20
minutes. Add sour cream. May be served immediately –
of course, like all chili, this tastes awesome the
next day. (If you like thicker chili, reduce the
amount of chicken broth added in step 5.)
Serve with the usual chili garnishes--cilantro,
cheese, jalapenos, tomatoes, etc.