White Chicken Chili in the Crockpot

I love my crockpot. Not as much as she does...but I really do love it. The more I use it, the more I want to use it. There is something so satisfying about doing all the work and making all the mess for dinner in the morning--and then not having to lift a finger at dinnertime!

So I was delighted when Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking announced a "Nourishing Crockpot Carnival" for this week. I'm always on the lookout for new recipes--especially crockpot ones. A Year of Slow Cooking is my go-to blog for crockpot recipes (the premise is uniquely insane--she used her crockpot every day for a YEAR--and the writing is great), but I loved the idea of getting crockpot recipes that use unprocessed, nourishing ingredients. This is a recipe carnival focused on the types of changes we are trying to make in our eating habits--in other words, my Pepsi Pot Roast, yummy though it may be, does not qualify :P

I was eager to join in, but wanted to post an original recipe--not one that I'd simply tweaked slightly from A Year of Slow Cooking. So on Sunday, I made my first attempt at modifying white chicken chili for the crockpot. This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com, but I've changed almost everything about it, so I can definitely call it my own. I'll confess, I'm not 100% satisfied with it--but it does work, it is healthy, and we happily eat it here. I'd love to hear from you if you try it out and tweak it to make it better (or if you have any tips based on your own white chicken chili recipe!).

This recipe is easier if you use canned beans--because then you can do it all at once rather than in two parts. But it works well with dried beans, if you don't mind having to come back to it a couple of hours before serving.

White Chicken Chili

1 (generous) cup of dry Great Northern Beans (or two cans)

3 cups chicken broth (approximately)

2 t. ground cumin

1 whole onion, diced

1-4 oz. can diced green chiles (these are very mild)

1 1/2 c. chopped cooked chicken

1 c. corn (optional)

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

salt to taste

The night before: Measure the dry beans into your crock and add enough water to cover, plus an inch or two. Soak at room temperature overnight.

In the morning: Dump the soaking water and rinse the beans. Add broth and onion and cook for 5-7 hours on low.

With a slotted spoon, remove about half the beans (more or less--no need to measure) and puree them in a food processor or blender. Return bean puree to the crockpot and add chiles, chicken, corn and cumin. Turn crockpot up to high and cook for another 1-2 hours; taste it and adjust seasonings to your liking--add some salt, and a pinch of cayenne or some jalapenos if you want some kick. Serve plain or with toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, tortilla chips, etc.

If you want to simplify and use canned beans, just skip the soaking step, puree about 2/3 of one of the cans at the very beginning, and then dump everything in the crockpot on low for about 6-8 hours.

Yield: about six servings.

Visit Passionate Homemaking for more nourishing crockpot recipes.

Related:

Chicken Tortilla Soup