Can you hear the clang of slow cookers being pulled from countless cupboards at this time of year? We’re craving warm, comforting soups, stews and chilies as temperatures dip and the leaves turn color. (We’re getting a gorgeous display in Kansas.) This white chicken chili isn’t too spicy (which can always be remedied at serving time with pickled jalapenos and Tabasco) and is filled with the rich flavors of corn (from two sources, corn kernels and corn tortillas) and bell peppers.
I emailed the author of the cookbook that I adapted this recipe from, and asked her about the large amount of chicken broth called for. (Her recipe calls for 8 cups, but after making this chili I cut it back to 4 cups because slow cookers do not evaporate liquid in the same way that stove-top cooking does.) She promptly replied that the recipe was tested by five testers and that it should work.
Trust me on this one, though. If you use more than 4 cups of broth you’ll have watery chili. However, if I’m wrong in your case, you can always add more broth. My mother Minerva, (real name Anne) was an excellent natural cook who always seemed to know instinctively which recipes would work and which wouldn’t. When it came to adding ingredients to a dish, she frequently quoted her Swiss mother, Lydia: ”You can always put in, but you cannot take out.”
1 T. vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 T. ground cumin
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (optional, but why make chili if it doesn’t have a kick?)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
6 corn tortillas, torn into small pieces
2 15-oz. cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 16-oz. bag frozen corn (I like C & W Petite White corn)
3 cups cooked chicken breast, cut into chunks
fresh cilantro, chopped
fresh lime juice
8 T. light sour cream
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet; add onions and bell peppers and saute until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
Combine onion/pepper mixture with seasonings in a slow cooker and add broth, tortillas, beans, corn and chicken. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Taste for salt and add if needed.
Top each serving with freshly chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice and one T. of light sour cream. Shredded jack cheese is also great on the side, and for the not-faint-of-palate, jarred jalapeno pepper slices and Tabasco. This chili freezes well, and tastes even better the next day, as the chili thickens.
Note: If you don’t have cooked chicken, you can add raw skinned chicken breasts to the slow cooker and cook them whole with the chili. At the end of the cooking time, remove them, allow to become cool enough to handle, shred the meat and return it to the slow cooker.
Serves: 8
WW Points per serving, with 1 T. light sour cream: 6