White Chicken Chili

When I think of chili, I think of the good ol' red meat chili with enough peppers to burn your face off. I love chili, and I'm sure it's a staple for most of us in the cold months.

On a whim, I decided to change it up, and it has quickly become a favorite in our house.

I know chicken chili isn't a new concept, but it was new to me the first time I made it, and I just went through the store picking up things that I figured would be good in it. Now the recipe is tweaked to our liking, and I thought it might be worth sharing.

In this recipe, I use canned green chiles, but I really prefer using a freshly chopped poblano pepper instead; however, they're not in season here, so I made do with green chiles. It was still wonderful.

You will need:

Jalapeños, sliced very thin

* I used 7 because that's what I had in my fridge. I probably would have used more because the hotter the better!!! This is definitely a "to taste" item, though. It had that fantastic slow burn and was enough to heat me up, but wasn't as hot as I usually make it*

Habaneros, ground in food processor

* Another "to taste" item. I used 2 small peppers*

2 bell peppers, chopped

*I used my favorite, yellow & orange*

1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 large can cream of chicken soup
4-6 cups chicken broth

*I used a combination of boxed broth and broth from boiled chicken*

2 cans white beans (drained)
8oz diced (or chopped) green chiles

*or one fresh chopped poblano*

2lbs shredded chicken
1pkg white chicken chili seasoning

* I boiled chicken breasts with rib meat for 20 minutes in seasoned water (cumin, red pepper, onion powder) then let it cool & shred with fork*

Mix ingredients, except for the chicken broth, in the crockpot. This mix will be thick, but it is important to incorporate all of the more solid ingredients (including cream of chicken soup) before adding the chicken broth. The cup difference (4-6) in the chicken broth will depend on how thick you like your chili and how big your crockpot is. I think I ended up using about 5 cups, stirred into other ingredients slowly, 1 cup at a time, until it was the desire consistency. Cook on high for 5 hours, or low for 8.

I made this on a football day, and once it was done, I left it on "keep warm" for the rest of the day for anyone that wanted to go grab a bowl.

I also love serving this with a dollop of sour cream, avocado, or sprinkle of cheese... Or all of the above.