White Chicken Chili

It's finally Fall.  Who cares if it's ninety degrees outside?  There's football on the television, and that dictates certain kinds of food.  This Saturday, it dictated white chicken chili.  One of my favorites!

Ingredients:

2 large chicken leg quarters
4 cans of great northern beans, drained
2 cans original Ro-tel (no salt)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
5 small green jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. black papper
1/2 tsp. white pepper
4 c. chicken broth

*Warning:  This dish is very spicy.

1.  Start with grilling the chicken over low heat, on the second rack, for about an hour.  Flip after 30 minutes.  This will give it a good grilled flavor, but not burn it.  Then, set it aside to cool while you put the rest of the chili together.

2.  Heat vegetable oil in big soup pot and sautee onions, jalapenos, and garlic until onions are translucent.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

3.  Sprinkle in seasonings - chili powder, black papper, white pepper.


4.  Add beans and Ro-tel.  Return to a boil, hen reduce to simmer.  Simmer for 15 minutes and taste to see if you need to add more seasonings or more water, depending on your heat tolerance. Then boil another 15 minutes.

5.  While vegetables and seasonings are simmering together, remove the bones, cartilage and skin from your cooked chicken and discard.  Chop meat into bite-sized pieces.  Add the chopped chicken to the simmering vegetables and seasonings for the last 5 minutes.


6.  Top with sour cream and chopped chives, and serve.

Notes:

* Normally I cut up a chicken breast and sautee it in the pan with onions, jalapenos and garlic.  I will not do that again.  The grilled leg quarters really added a nice flavor to the chili.

* Please do not use the jalapenos if you are not tolerant of the heat.  And, if you wear contacts, remember to wash your hands thoroughly before touching your eyes.

* I use the no salt added varieties and don't factor salt into this recipe at all.  You may need to add it to suit your tastes.

* I like the great northern beans because of the size and texture, but you could use any white bean you prefer in their place.

* I cooked enough to make sure I had left overs.  If you're just looking for dinner for two, you could cut the recipe in half.

Ratings:

Sandy's rating:  5.0 stars

I love chicken chili, but the grilled chicken in this really made it something special.  It gave it a bit of a smoky flavor that went really well with the chili powder.  Can't wait to have it again.

Tony's rating:  5.0 stars

Not your moms chili. The grilled chicken gave the chili a nice smokey flavor. Sandy always makes it spicy, too. Perfect for cooler weather and football.

Cost: under $15
Ro-Tel - $1.44/can
great northern beans - $0.91/can
onion - $0.69/lb.
vegetable oil - $2.99
chicken leg quarters - about $5 for a 10 lb. bag

We grew the jalapenos, and the remainder of the ingredients are staples in our home.