Chicken and White Bean Chili

Made this for supper tonight.  Love it!

Ingredients:

    * 1/4 cup olive oil
    * 1 1/3 cups chopped onion
    * 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
    * 6 garlic cloves, chopped
    * 2 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
    * 3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
    * 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    * 1 tablespoon ground cumin
    * 1 tablespoon dried oregano
    * 2 15- to 16-ounce cans white beans, drained, juices reserved
    * 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
    * 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

      Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until chicken is no longer pink outside, about 5 minutes. Mix in chili powder, tomato paste, cumin, and oregano. Add beans, 1 cup reserved bean juices, and canned tomatoes. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and chili is thickened, about 25 minutes. If chili is too thick, add more bean juices by tablespoonfuls to thin. Season chili to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in cilantro and serve.
    
      

[TrudieC]

Oops, forgot to say this serves 6 (very good sized portions) and is from Bon Appetit.

[kennedydp5]

this sounds really good!  i love chili, although i never get to eat it b/c dh hates it.  :(  maybe he would be willing to try this recipe.

[prariegal]

That sounds delicious Trudie.  I'd probably need to cut the spices a bit for the boys but hope to try this.

[PrettyKitty1]

OMG I've got to prepare this recipe tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!

[April2]

I made this last night and it was really good! This one is definitely a keeper!

[jo929]

sounds good but what about seniors that cant take beans and spices it seems to cramp them  need something without all of spices and tomatoes   jo

[Piparskeggr]

Heya Trudie;

I like White Chili; turkey's good, too.

Something I like to do when making chili of any sort is to use different beans or legumes together.  For this, you could mix half and half white beans and chickpeas, they add a nice, different "mouth-feel."

A way of getting a good chili flavor is to use 1 or 2 habaneros in place of the chili powder.  When I use hot peppers for cooking of this sort, I will freeze them first.  Nice thing about that, is the thawed peppers just seem to completely melt away and evenly spread throughout the chili.

[TrudieC]

Excellent idea.  I'm not used to cooking with habeneros but will try.  Sometimes I just don't get enough heat with the chili powder.  I usually add some splotches of hot sauce and cayenne but the peppers could solve that.  This is now my go to base for all chilis.  I love the ratio of spices and apply it to ground beef chilis and just bean chilis.