White Chicken Chili

This is Mom. I made a variation of the white chicken chili recipe from Our Best Bites. If you want the original, you'll find it at http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/white-chicken-chili/. 

The soup was delicious! It's got some kick, but mellow Dad still loved it. We've been eating off it for 3 days, and I was going to warm up the last of it for our Sunday lunch today. But Dad said, "No, wait, I was hoping I could take that for lunch the next couple of days." A bowl of that soup, four or five saltines, and a little container of berries make a great lunch for him. Becca, you can see we're violating the 72-hour rule, but it still seems good.

White Chicken Chili

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans
3 cups chicken chunks cut from rotisserie chicken
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (3.5-ounce) can green chilies
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 (16-ounce) can chicken broth

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes, just until it starts to become translucent.
2. While the onions are cooking, drain the beans and rinse with cold water; set aside. Cut up the chicken. Add the garlic to the onions and cook another 2 minutes (but don't brown the garlic!).
3. Add the chicken, the green chilies along with all of the juices in the can, the beans, oregano, salt, and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine and then add the chicken broth.
4. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered about 10 minutes to blend flavors.

The original recipe called for 1 pound raw chicken that you then cook with the onion, a full onion, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. coriander, the juice from one lime, and 1/2 cup chopped cilantro. I didn't have any of those, so I didn't use them, yet we still loved the flavor. The original recipe also suggests possible toppings of sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded pepper jack or Monterey Jack cheese, avocado, tortilla chips, lime wedges. We didn't use any of those items, but it was still delicious.