Simple, Hearty White Chili

Have any of you ever perused The Pioneer Woman's website? She's pretty awesome. Her entries are witty, cynical at times, good-natured and the kind of thing that make you want to meet her in real life. And her guest 'Lodge,'=AMAZING. Her website is dedicated to her cooking, photography, home, home-schooling etc., so if you have a chance, take a peek into her life!

Anywhoo, this is the first hearty dish I have made of her's, although I have many saved in my google reader to try at some point (#1 on my list, her Cinnamon Rolls). This chili has a good kick and is pretty simple to put together. The only problem I had was that mine stayed pretty soupy, which is probably because I used skim milk instead of whole, which I never have at home and forgot to buy. I did some googling and found that supposedly 1 cup skim milk + 1 tbls. melted butter= 1 cup whole milk, so I attempted this and I don't think it worked. I even added a second cornstarch/water mixture to try to thicken the chili, but that didn't work either. Next time I'll either buy whole milk or cut back on the amount of chicken broth used.

I used a whole cut up fryer chicken, and served this with cornbread. We had monterey jack cheese, salsa, jalapenos and sour cream as a garnish.

Simple, Hearty White Chili
Source: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1 whole Fryer Chicken, Cut Up (or 3 Cups Cooked Chicken)
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 whole Cans Green Chilies, Chopped
1 pound Dried Great Northern Beans, Rinsed
8 cups Chicken Broth
1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
1-½ Tablespoon Ground Cumin
½ teaspoons Paprika
½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
Salt To Taste
White Pepper, To Taste
1 cup Whole Milk
2 Tablespoons Masa (corn Flour) OR Cornmeal
Grated Monterey Jack, To Taste
Sour Cream For Garnish
Cilantro For Garnish
Guacamole (optional)
Pico De Gallo (optional)
Corn Tortillas (warmed)


Preparation Instructions

Cover chicken with water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until done. Remove meat from bones. Set aside.

In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, saute onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Add chopped green chilies, then rinsed beans. Pour chicken broth into the pan. Add sliced jalapenos. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin. Place lid on pot and reduce heat to low.

Cook for 2 hours or until beans are done. Halfway through the cooking process, add 3 cups of cooked chicken.

When beans are tender, mix milk with masa (or cornmeal) and pour into the chili. Cook for an additional ten minutes to thicken. Check seasoning and adjust, adding cayenne pepper and paprika if desired.

Add some Monterey Jack cheese to the pot and stir to melt.

Serve chili in a bowl. Garnish with cilantro, sour cream, extra cheese—even pico de gallo and guacamole, if you have some on hand. Roll up warm corn tortillas and serve on the side of the bowl.