it's chili season...

much to my dismay.....I fought the end of summer, kicking and screaming like never before. I wasn't ready for it to go. I didn't get enough.

Not enough relaxing or sunning or floating or playing. I didn’t eat enough popsicles….wait, did I eat any? I mean, tragic. And now {what in the actual EFF ??} here we are almost in October….. %^&$#@*

Does anybody have a paper bag I can breathe into for a second?

I’m in full panic mode over here…

I have to admit there is a lot to love about fall….crisp mornings and snuggly sweaters, Halloween and pretty leaves, Thanksgiving and apple pie and pecan pie and football….well, football food at least. It alllll comes back to the food…..like this chili! This chili is my favorite white chicken chili everrrr and I’ve been promising to post this recipe since probably last fall when I was whining about not being ready to face the cold. Again. Why do you put up with me?

Well, quit yer beggin’ cuz here it is…..

There aren’t a lot of recipes I bother to make more than a handful of times but this one is a staple. I’ll be making it forever and that’s good news cuz it’s super good for you and also super, super easy…that is if you don’t have a wild toddler climbing your leg and grabbing for the burner while squawking unintelligible nonsense.

Thank god for wine.

I finally wised up and made a double batch, and it’s the perfect amount…here’s how you can make it too!

White Chicken Chili

Adapted from Cooking Light

1 TBS vegetable or canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced (I used more than this)

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

5 tsp of green Tabasco (um. I used almost an entire small bottle. Just go ahead and eyeball this to your taste, but I suggest using wayyyy more than 5 tsp)

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups of chicken stock

I TBS stone ground corn meal

1 15oz can of cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

For garnish

Chopped green onions

0% plain greek yogurt or light sour cream

Lime wedges

Cubed avocado

Directions

Heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed stock pot, then add your onions & garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until fragrant & translucent. Add the chicken stock, salt, Tabasco & chicken breasts to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low simmer, cover & cook for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, whisk the cornmeal into the pot (whisk it so it doesn’t clump) and then add the beans. Simmer for 15 minutes. Mash about ½ cup of the beans against the side of the pot using a wooden spoon. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and add it back to the pot & let it simmer for 5-10 minutes until the chili thickens. To serve, top with sour cream or yogurt, green onions & avocado. Yummy.

To “double” this, I just used a huge onion, about 7 garlic cloves, a lot of Tabasco, extra chicken, a whole box of stock, 2 tsp of salt, 2 TBS of cornmeal and a giant can of beans. You really can’t screw this up. it is AWESOME.

Enjoy!!!