Creamy White Chicken Chili

You know how I've always claimed not to be a soup person? Well...times have changed. I don't know what happened, but sometime recently I realized that soup is pretty good. Delicious even. These days I ::gasp:: find myself searching for soup or stew recipes when I'm making my meal plan. What's come over me?

I printed out this recipe for Creamy White Chicken Chili years ago and never made it because, soup. We ended up buying a lot of chicken at the store recently so I figured what the heck, I'll give it a try.



Please forgive the "it's winter and I don't have natural light to take good photos" photo above and just trust me - this is one delicious soup, errr, chili. SP wasn't convinced it was chili (he said chili is supposed to be tomato-based, and I don't necessarily disagree) but this was still delicious.

We used tortilla chips to scoop up the chicken and beans, or just dunked them in, and for some reason that really hit the spot. And the best part - it was incredibly simple to make. Definitely an easy weeknight meal.

I was looking at Mel's blog and some of the comments said they served it with her cornbread with fluffy honey butter, so I might do that next time, if I'm feeling adventurous.

Creamy White Chicken Chili
Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Serves 6

1 tablespoon oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies (if you like less kick, add just one can)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Fresh cilantro, for garnish
Grated Monterey Jack cheese, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and leave it alone for 1-2 minutes to allow it to brown. Stir, then add the onion and garlic. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 3-5 more minutes.

Add the beans, chicken broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then simmer (uncovered) for 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream and heavy cream. Serve, topping each bowl with fresh cilantro and grated cheese, if desired. This is especially good served with tortilla chips.

Chili Cornbread Skillet

My friend Melissa has been raving about this Chili Cornbread Skillet for months. She makes it every single week for dinner. I admit, I'm not that into chili. It's fine, it's just not something I crave, but after seeing it week after week on her tumblr page I decided I needed to see what all the fuss was about. Plus SP loves chili and Baby Girl could probably eat a whole pan of cornbread herself so this seemed like a win all around.

This is a great weeknight dinner - it takes almost no time to prepare and tastes great. I found the chili a bit salty, so I cut back on the salt in the recipe below and I think next time I'll leave out the green pepper because they just don't agree with me. SP wanted the chili a bit spicier but I always err on the mild side since Baby Girl eats what we eat.

We all enjoyed this and the leftovers were even more delicious. I had half an avocado in the fridge so I diced it up to eat with my leftovers. I think sour cream, maybe even some cheddar cheese, would be great as well - really whatever toppings you like on your chili would be great with this. Thanks for the push to make this, Melissa!

Chili Cornbread Skillet
As seen on Alosha's Kitchen, from Very Culinary

1 pound ground beef
1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon chile powder
1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (10-ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup salsa
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 package (8.5 ounce) Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
Toppings: grated cheddar, sour cream, diced avocado, etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a 10 or 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic, spices and salt to the pan. Cook, breaking up the chunks of beef with a wooden spoon, stirring occasionally, until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are softened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beans, soup, salsa, and ketchup and stir until thoroughly combined. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the corn muffin mix, egg, and milk. Let sit for 2 minutes. Spoon the corn muffin mix over the beef.

Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until cornbread is golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes, then break into cornbread top to serve. Top with cheese, sour cream, etc., if desired.

Traditional Chili

To many people fall means chili. I have a go-to recipe I use whenever SP asks me to make chili, but I saw this Traditional Chili over at Southern Pink Lemonade and figured I'd give it a try.

This was an incredibly easy recipe - brown the beef, onions and garlic, add in the rest of the ingredients and leave it alone for a few hours. My chili was a little thick, so I had to add in some water as it was cooking. I modified the recipe to add in some water and cut the beer in half - a full bottle was a little too overpowering.

Full disclosure - I'm not a big fan of chili. I made this because SP loves it and so I'd have leftovers for the freezer. I've got big plans to make chili cheese fries sometime this fall.

Traditional Chili
Adapted by Peace, Love, and French Fries, as seen on Southern Pink Lemonade

1 1/2 - 2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2- 15 ounce cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (you could also use black beans or pinto beans)
24 ounces tomato sauce
6 ounce bottle of beer
8 ounces water
6 ounce can tomato paste
4 1/5 ounce can diced green chilies
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cumin
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you would like your chili
1 teaspoon paprika
1-2 teaspoons hot sauce, depending on how spicy you would like your chili

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, brown ground beef with onion and garlic over medium-high heat. Drain beef of excess grease, if necessary. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Allow chili to simmer for 3 hours or until thickened. Stir occasionally.

Top with shredded cheese, green onions, or sour cream, if you would like. You can also serve chili over rice, fries, or even top your hotdog with it.

Chili and Cheese Baked Potatoes

Two Sundays ago I defrosted a 3 1/2-lb package of ground turkey. I used half to make turkey chili that we served over baked potatoes:


I used my usual Emeril recipe for the chili and we just baked the potatoes in the microwave. For toppings we had grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and chopped scallions. Hearty and filling.

Chili

Since we have so much ground beef in the freezer and because SP loves chili, I decided to make chili on Thursday. I used the recipe SP likes from Emeril:


... and he said it was the best version I've ever made. I'm not a huge fan of chili, but I think it was pretty good:


We had it with tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions and sour cream. I also chopped up some tomatoes and cilantro.

Chili & Cornbread

I've never made chili before. For whatever reason it isn't something I find myself craving (except when we're in Chicago and go to Lindy's), but it's one of those things SP asks me to make from time to time. I didn't have a recipe in mind, but I did a quick search for Emeril and ended up making one kick-ass bowl of chili (if I do say so myself):


We ate it with the leftover jalapeno cornbread from Sunday's rib dinner and some tortilla chips for dipping. It had just the right combination of flavors from the beer, cayenne and red pepper flakes, brown sugar and the surprise ingredient - cinnamon. I really modified the recipe, first cutting it in half to make less chili and then omitting certain ingredients we didn't have. I had to leave out the kidney beans because we didn't have any in the pantry, but I would certainly add them next time. The recipe says it cooks for almost 3 hours, but mine was done in 45 minutes (probably because I used only 1 beer instead of 2 so there was less liquid). Regardless, it tasted fabulous and was easy enough to make on a weeknight.

Emeril's Kickin' Chili
Modified from Emeril's Original Kickin' Chili

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf
4 minced garlic cloves
2 (12-ounce) bottles dark beer (I used one this time)
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar
2 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (we didn't have any on hand)
1 cup grated Cheddar, for garnish
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions, for garnish
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
sour cream, to taste

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Add the beef and brown well, about 10 minutes. Add the onions, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, and bay leaf and cook, stirring often, until the onions soften, about 8 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beer and cook until the foam subsides, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt and brown sugar to the pot. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the chili from sticking to the bottom of the pot. (This is where you add the beans, return to a simmer, cover, and cook until thickened). Serve with the cheese, sour cream, green onions, and cilantro alongside as garnish.