Halloween White Chili

This year for Halloween, we didn't do our traditional invite everyone over to our house party. It was different to not have the whole family over here, but with Justin and Ashlee living in a new neighborhood with sidewalks and kids I thought they'd prefer to go there and Olivia and Jessica have been trying to split time between there neighborhoods and ours for a few years. My girls don't want to stick around with cousins anyway- they want to do off with their friends. So Ryan and I hung out at home and handed out candy by ourselves - while working on bagpipes- but that's a different story.

Anyway, every year I make my traditional chili recipe - which isn't a recipe at all. You buy cans of every and any flavor of beans, a couple of cans of beanless chili and a couple of cans of Italian style stewed tomatoes and dump them in the crock-pot and let them cook all day. Every year our neighborhood has a get together on Halloween for soup and bread before the kids go off to trick or treat. We have usually made a quick appearance at the party to say hello before going home to our own family party, but this year we went to their party instead. (It lasts less than an hour- just long enough to eat.) But they asked me to bring a chili type soup. I found this recipe on Just a Pinch and thought maybe I should make that- but since it was new I wasn't sure how it would turn out. And Adria said I should just make the same chili I always make. I ended up making both. It's a good thing too because this new chili was a HIT and the traditional chili didn't turn out as well as usual. I made it in a smaller older crock pot I have had since we got married- I don't think it got hot enough to thicken like it usually does- so I'm blaming the crock pot for that failure.  Everyone liked the white chili! Several neighbors asked for the recipe and Genna had it for breakfast this morning and Pierce took it to lunch- Always a win if the kids will eat it as leftovers at lunch!


If you know me, you know I had to make some changes to the recipe - so here it is:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion
2 clove garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1 (7 oz) can chopped green chiles
3 (15.5 oz) cans white northern beans
2 (14oz) cans chicken broth
1 tsp salt - I think I added a little extra after I tasted it- but we use low sodium broth
1 tsp pepper - I didn't measure I just added some
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
1/2 c whipping cream
1 c sour cream - I didn't measure this either - just spooned some in- probably less than 1 cup.
Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Boil chicken until cooked and shred with a hand mixer. Meanwhile, chop the onion and finely dice the garlic. Saute onion, garlic and green chilies a large pan with the vegetable oil. Add the chili powder and shredded chicken. Mix until combined and then pour into the crock pot. Add the broth, beans (liquid too, although I partially drained 1 can because it seamed like a lot of liquid), cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours (I didn't really time it). During the last 30 to 60 minutes of cooking, stir in the whipping cream and sour cream. Serve hot sprinkled with cheese (and extra sour cream).

The only pics I have of the chili is the bowl Genna ate for breakfast this morning!