White Chicken Chili

This chili post was requested by a friend (hi Janet!). It's a wonderful week night meal relying on dried herbs, leftover chicken, canned beans, and prepackaged chicken stock. Of course you can spiff it up by using homemade chicken stock and dried beans that you've cooked yourself. So, without further adieu, let's get started.

For this batch, I used cooked chicken thighs that I purchased at Costco for less than $2 per pound. Leftover chicken works equally well, doesn't matter if it's light or dark meat.

Next we saute the onions. Mmmm... the aroma of onions cooking drives me crazy!

Time to add the flavor - black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, cumin, Kosher salt, and oregano.

Sauteing the herbs with the onions gives them a flavor boost.

Don't be alarmed when you see browned bits form on the bottom of your pan, just don't let them burn.

Time to add the chicken stock and reserved chicken...

And the beans (and optional green chilies). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in dried parsley.

Just before serving, stir in sour cream and heavy cream.

Garnish and serve. Enjoy!

White Chicken Chili

Serves 6-8

Printable Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds diced chicken, about 3 cups (white or dark, cooked or not, whatever you have)

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder - not garlic salt)

• 2 (two) 15.5-ounce cans Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (or any light colored bean - great northern, pinto, black eyed peas)

• 4 cups homemade chicken stock (low sodium if using canned)

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (more if you like it hot)

• 8 ounces sour cream (low fat is fine. Plain yogurt can also be used)

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons dried parsley

• Optional: if you like it spicy, add a 4-ounce can of diced green chilies

• Garnish: sour cream, shredded cheese (pepper jack, cheddar, etc), chopped scallions, chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over med-high heat.

2. If using leftover chicken, skip this first step. If using uncooked chicken, lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper and saute in the heated oil until browned (no need to cook completely at this stage).

3. Remove chicken; reserve.

4. In the same pan, saute onions until slightly browned; add salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne, oregano, and cumin.

5. Continue to cook for a few minutes to "bloom" the flavor of the herbs.

6. Add chicken stock, chicken, beans, and optional green chilies to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

7. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, heavy cream, and parsley. Garnish and serve.

Note

• 1 pound cooked dried beans is equal to about 4 cans.

Italian Chicken Noodle Soup

My homemade chicken noodle soup has a lot of fans. I attribute its popularity to several key ingredients - rich, garlicky homemade chicken stock, loads of dried parsley, tons of chicken, and really thick country style noodles.

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First I start with these wonderful Country Pasta egg noodles. They're not your ordinary noodle, no... they are extraordinary and well worth finding. What makes them so special you ask? The fact that they're really thick and hold up extremely well in soups and stews. They have a real textural quality when you bite into them. Because these noodles are so much more substantial than other brands, they take twice as long to cook, so I boil them before assembling the soup (use a large stock pot because these guys puff up quite a bit). Be sure to salt your water well, or they'll taste very bland (water should taste like the sea).

I always make a huge batch of this soup because it's so popular, but you can easily reduce the ingredients for a smaller batch. First I start with about 6 quarts of Homemade chicken stock.

Then I add lots of shredded chicken - for a batch of soup this size, I would suggest the meat from 1 1/2 to 2 chickens. I usually roast my own chickens, but feel free to use rotisserie chickens if you like.

Now I add frozen mixed veggies - I like this organic brand from Costco. I use about half of this 5lb. bag. Don't forget to add salt and pepper to taste, and throw in a decent palm-full of dried parsley - another Costco item I can't live without. Then just heat and serve.

Italian Chicken Noodle Soup

recipe serves 26, but can easily be reduced

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound hearty soup noodles, cooked in well salted water

• 6 quarts homemade chicken stock (recipe here)

• shredded meat from 1 1/2 to 2 roasted chickens (recipe here)

• 2 1/2 pounds frozen mixed vegetables

• 2-3 tablespoons dried parsley, crushed in the palm of your hand

• salt and pepper to taste

• finish with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the chicken stock, chicken, vegetables, parsley, salt, and pepper; heat stirring occasionally.

2. Add cooked noodles to serving bowls, ladle soup on top, and finish with a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese.