Week 28 : White Chicken Chili



1 large green pepper, chopped

1 Anaheim pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs plus 1/2 tea cumin

1 1/2 tea coriander

2 lbs chicken breasts

2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can low sodium chicken broth

1 Tbs lime juice

1/2 tea salt

Combine all peppers, onion, garlic, 1 Tbs cumin and 1 tea coriander in large skillet.  Saute in olive oil about 6-10 minutes or until all are soft.  Pour into Crock Pot.  Place chicken on top.  Pour beans and broth into the pot.  Cook on LOW 6 hours or HIGH 4 hours.  Remove chicken and shred; place back into Crock Pot.  Add 1/2 tea each of cumin and coriander.  Add lime juice and salt.  Serve with tortillas topped with sour cream and cheese.

I'm not really sure where this recipe came from!  I found it in my collection as a photo copied picture out of a magazine- Family Circle it says.  If you provided this recipe for me, thank you!  This turned out great!  A few tips...The original recipe for this called for poblano peppers.  I am still trying to figure out the difference between all the different types of peppers.  The grocery store I happened upon did not have poblano peppers, but the Anaheim peppers looked similar, so that's what I ended up with.  When cutting up the peppers, be careful!  The jalapenos especially can cause some problems- burning sensation to fingertips, painful watery eyes, that weird coughing fit you get when you accidentally inhale to deeply!   Be sure to discard of the seeds immediately, since these seem to be the usual source of the problems.  I will admit that I cheat and wear gloves while I chop them up!  However, if you are of the braver sort, my friend, Rachel F., says that washing your hands with olive or vegetable oil after handling the little suckers will rid your hands of the nasty oils!  If you try this, let me know how it works out.  Otherwise, just hop on over to the pharmacy section of the grocery store and they will point you in the direction of some protection (gloves people, gloves!).  I will admit that when I looked into the pot after this had cooked for about 5 hours I was sorely disappointed.  It appeared to be colorful chicken broth with 3 chicken breasts floating in it.  I thought I had come up with another watery dud.  Woefully, I pulled the chicken out and shredded it.  I was so pleasantly surprised when I returned the chicken to the pot and the consistency turned out normal.  Maybe just a little watery, so I turned the pot to WARM and left the lid slightly ajar for the last hour of cooking, in order to let some of the liquid escape.  Voila!  Perhaps next time I make this, I will add just a little less chicken broth or maybe one more chicken breast.  But the flavor is wonderful!  The recipe also called to top this with cilantro.  I am not a huge fan of cilantro, so I chose to leave it off and top with sour cream and cheese instead.  This would also be good with avocados or guacamole on top.  And, of course, I used the raw tortillas mentioned a few weeks back.  (I know for sure they can be found at Costco and Walmart.  Once you try them, no other tortilla will be good enough!)