Week 120: White Chicken Chili
Thank you for allowing me to take last week off so I could sneak away on a girl's trip ... but don't worry, I still made soup. We shared the cooking and, shockingly, I made soup and bread for dinner. In the end, however, this will benefit all of you as I tried out a new Italian bread that's filled with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil and parmesan cheese and it was delicious. I promise to add it to the menu in the near future!!
On the menu for MONDAY, JANUARY 20th is WHITE CHICKEN CHILI and CORNBREAD. This flavorful chili is made with hearty beans, tender chicken, and a rich and creamy broth. It's a great alternative to traditional beef chili and makes for a super satisfying dinner!!
The chili begins with browning chicken breasts in the pot. And while the chicken is cooking, poblano peppers, Anaheim chiles and onion are pulsed in the food processor until they are the consistency of chunky salsa. Poblano peppers are a popular Mexican chili pepper that are universally mild in flavor, while Anaheim chile peppers are a California pepper that have mild heat and major flavor without melting your face off.
Once the chicken is cooked and shredded, the chile-onion mixture, a little jalapeno pepper, garlic, cumin, and coriander are added to saute. Just enough jalapeno pepper is used to add flavor and depth to the chili, but not enough to make it too spicy for kids to enjoy. Using a variety of peppers adds layers of complexity and flavor to the chili, not added spiciness. Once softened, some of the vegetables are pureed in the food processor with cannellini beans and homemade chicken stock to help thicken the chili.
Next, the pureed vegetables are added back to pot along with the shredded chicken, more cannellini beans and homemade chicken stock. Once the flavors have blended together, the chili is garnished with cilantro, diced green onions, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips.
The bread companion this week is my cornbread. This super moist, buttery cornbread with it's fluffy center and crisp edges is the perfect bread to serve with any chili!!
This week marks the beginning of my contest for two tickets to the Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank Mardi Gras event on February 22nd. Over the next three weeks, every time you order soup, your name will be entered into the contest. Additionally, I will donate 10% of sales during this time to Sweet Cheeks. The winner of the tickets will be announced the week of February 3rd. For more information on Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank or to buy tickets to the Mardi Gras party, please visit sweetcheeksdiaperbank.org.