White Chicken Chili & Mexican Cornbread

I like to make a big pot of this and freeze a medium sized bowl full for later. Most of it's usually gone after the second day though (when it also tastes even better). I usually serve it with a pot of rice on the side, and Mexican cornbread too (recipe below).

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients (my ingred. list is an estimation according to my making a stockpot of chili):

• 4-6 chicken breasts (I use the frozen skinless, boneless, so it depends on their size, or you may just boil a whole chicken, which I also do sometimes.)
• 1-2 chicken thighs (for better broth flavor if using all white meat, not necessary if you're using a whole chicken)
• alot of garlic cloves for me, 2-10, depending on your taste
• chicken broth, which you'll have from boiling your chicken
• 2-4 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• fresh cilantro (optional)
• Kombu or Wakame seaweed (optional, for boiling with beans)
• 2# bag of great Northern beans, soaked and drained (1# bag if you want less beans)
• 1-2 cans corn, drained, or a bag of frozen corn
• a dash of dried tarragon, and a dash of thyme (if I don't have cilantro on hand)
• sour cream, half & half, or heavy cream, depending upon what you like or have in the fridge!

I like to start by soaking a 2# bag of Northern white beans the day before (in filtered or distilled water), unless I haven't thought that far ahead, in which case I start them soaking the same morning, and they just take awhile longer to cook. After soaking them, I drain them. Next, I boil about 4-5 chicken breasts, and a thigh or two (for better broth flavoring) in a stockpot of water with a couple of onions cubed in it, some celery if I have it, and quite a few crushed garlic cloves. You could use a whole chicken if you preferred. We just prefer white meat here.

Once the chicken's just started to boil, I only give it a minute or two before I take out the breasts so that they don't overcook and get tough. But I then leave the thighs in and let them boil a bit longer with the veggies. After 20-30 mins. or so of simmering, I remove everything from the broth, and then I add the beans into the broth to cook. I like to cook my beans with either some kombu* strips (easily removed once beans are done) or wakame* pieces, which I put in a tea leaf infuser that hangs from the side of my pot. Nobody in my family would like to see bits of seaweed in their food, nor eat seaweed, but once I've boiled most of the minerals out of the leaves into my broth and beans, I just remove it, and all's well, nutritional benefits without the slimy green! It doesn't even change the taste of the dish that way either. Seaweed may be added to just about any dish. I know that my brother likes to sautee it into his scrambled eggs. Anyways, I digress!

So, while the beans are boiling (seaweed optional of course!), I add in a bag of frozen corn from our garden last year that probably equal a couple of cans worth. I sautee a chopped onion in olive oil, then I add a couple of minced garlic cloves to the onions. This I then add to the beans, along with a few teaspoons of cumin (to taste), dried oregano, salt and cayenne pepper. All the spices would be according to your own family's taste, but that's the basics. I think that I added some thyme the last time I made it too. If I have it on hand, I'll also add a few Tbsp. of fresh cilantro. My family also likes mushrooms, alot, so I slice up and sautee quite a few little button mushrooms in olive oil as well, and add them to the pot.

While that's all simmering and starting to smell really good, I chop the chicken into bite-sized chunks, and once the beans are tender, add it into the pot also. After everything's been simmering for awhile longer, and looks about done, I'll add quite a few big 'ol dollops of sour cream into the pot, which gives the whole thing a yummy, mild creaminess. At first it will coagulate a bit and look funky, but after a bit of stirring and a few more minutes of simmering, it looks and is perfect!

*Nutritional excerpt from the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op pdf Sea Vegetables: Kombu contains enzymes that help to break down the raffinose sugars in beans (the cause of excessive gas and bloating), increasing digestability. Kombu also acts as an antidote to excess sodium consumption and it is known to reduce blood cholesterol and hypertension. Kombu is high in iodine, potassium and calcium, as well as vitamins A and C. Wakame has many of the same nutritional benefits of its close relative, kombu. It is especially rich in calcium and contains high levels of vitamins B and C.

Mexican Cornbread

I double the following recipe, and bake mine in a 14" cast iron skillet. This is Chris and N's favorite, and we make it a bit spicier by using minced up jalapenos rather than green chiles, which T doesn't like, so I'll often make her a separate little skillet of sweet cornbread. Around here, we think cornbread is best served with real butter and drizzled in honey.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup salad oil
• 1 to 4 green chiles, seeded and chopped
• 1 small can (about 9 oz.) cream-style corn
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal (or self-rising cornmeal, and leave out the salt and baking powder below)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9" pan. (I just pour a bit of oil into my cast-iron skillet and put it in the preheating oven, which makes for a crispy crust, when you pour your batter into the hot oil). In a bowl, beat eggs and oil until well blended. Add chiles, corn, sour cream, cornmeal, salt, baking pwoder and 1.5 cups of the cheese; stir until thoroughly blended. Pour bater into prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 1 hour or until crust is lightly browned and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.