The weather kind of cooled off here in Western Kentucky last night and it put me in the mindset for chili. As a chili fanatic, admittedly it doesn’t take much.
However, I wanted to mix things up a little bit, so I went the white chili route. Besides, I knew we’d be watching The Biggest Loser later in the evening and it’s easier to face Bob and Jillian with chicken on my breath rather than red meat. She’s a screamer, you know.
I totally short-cutted my way with the chicken this time (something I’ve been known to do when my to do list is unreasonable). I bought 3 bags of Tyson’s delicious fully cooked diced chicken breast. Tender, flavorful, fast. Tell me that’s not a wicked 1-2-3 combo. The chicken’s carved from real whole breast fillets and has no preservatives – just like you’d make it in your own kitchen but without having to scrub everything a thousand times.
The recipe below can be halved or doubled for that matter. This one serves 8.
Flavorful White Chili
3 bags Tyson 6 oz Fully Cooked Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast
2 packages McCormick White Chicken Chili Seasoning Mix
2 cans Great Northern Beans, undrained
1 can Red Beans, drained and rinsed
2 small cans green chilies
1-1/2 cups water to 2 cups water, your call
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion. Stir for a minute over medium heat, allowing the onion to season the oil. Add the bags of chicken and stir the onions into the meat. Pour the beans, water, seasoning packets, and chilies into your favorite chili pan (I used my beloved Simply Calphalon Nonstick 12″ Fryer. For one thing, It cooks everything perfectly and for another, it has a clear lid, allowing me to behold the loveliness.).
Add the chicken and onion to the bean mixture. Bring to a soft boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
We cooks love to season everything to the hilt, right? Well, with the McCormick seasoning packets, you’ll want to curb the instincts. Trust me, everything you could hope to add to the flavor is already in the packets.
Serving Options: I served the chili with a variety of topping options. I went with sour cream and cilantro, one of my daughters chose mixed Authentic Mexican shredded cheese and another daughter threw caution to the wind and chose all three.
You could also serve White Chili with slices of avocado, salsa, red pepper flakes or hot sauce. However, as with everything, you’d want to taste the chili first, before adding anything.
I always serve white chili with folded warmed tortillas but bread sticks or corn muffins are also great options.
Enjoy!