Dave made a request recently for chili. Since it’s, you know, May (and hot outside), traditional beef and bean red chili seemed way, way too heavy. Thinking of an alternative that would still have protein, be filling, fast, and relatively low-carb, BAM! It hit me! White chicken chili! I’d never eaten it, let alone made it, but I figured that if I stuck with tex-mex flavors, I’d be fine. And it turned out really well! In our house, if you top hot, spicy food with avocado, it will be well-received, so I tried my best with a recipe and threw a bunch of the creamy, green stuff on top. Instant hit.

chicken chili nom-noms

And because it was so healthy, I had to counteract at least some of the nutritional benefits with a side of my fast spoonbread- essentially Jiffy corn muffin mix with canned and creamed corn (recipe below).  It is tasty! And goes well with so much, especially soups and chilis. Here goes:

WHITE BEAN CHICKEN CHILI

Ingredients:

• 1 package ground white meat chicken
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cans white beans, rinsed and drained*
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 jalepeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 bunch cilantro- leaves minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced, or one tsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp chicken base
• 1-2 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 cups water
• diced avocado, sour cream, hot sauce to serve

Directions:

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. When hot, add your olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, peppers (all three kinds), and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the chicken and all spices.

peppers, onion, and garlic cooking away

Cook, stirring, until the chicken is broken up well and is no longer pink. This will take another 5-7 minutes. Add the canned beans- and here’s the thing about canned beans- *you can either drain and rinse them to cut salt content or just dump them in. I drained mine but then added a tablespoon of chicken base, so was I really cutting salt? Probably not by much. I do prefer the flavor of the chicken base to the boring, super salty-msg-like flavor of canned beans. But this is up to you. Are you a drainer or a dumper? That sounds kind of weird, doesn’t it?

all done!

Anyway, add water, and you can add by the half cup, depending on how soupy you like your chili. Add the chicken base or bouillon here, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer about ten minutes. You’re all done! Stir in the cilantro and serve, with avocado, sour cream, hot sauce, and….

FAST SPOONBREAD

Ingredients:

• 2 packages Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cups milk
• 1 can sweet corn, drained
• 1 can creamed corn

Directions:

SO EASY! Love recipes that start with those words! Mix everything well (the batter will be lumpy, which is okay). Let rise for a few minutes as you preheat the oven to 400. Grease a baking dish- an 8×8 pyrex should be the right size (I like using a white Corning Ware casserole dish for presentation points). Bake for about 45 minutes. You want this to be a very moist bread- not uncooked but very soft. The sweetness and moisture of the corn and creamed corn really make this a delicious bread, and it’s forgiving- another 10-15 minutes in the oven wouldn’t hurt it at all. Serve.

*This post has been categorized as gluten-free; Jiffy mix isn’t 100% gf, so homemade cornbread would be the best bet if you need to be a stickler.