jalapeño popper white bean chili
I know I said I didn't want to make much chili in the slow cooker, but I saw this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe and had to try it. Also, this is probably the least pretty picture of chili, but the food was so good.
I started the beans and everything else around 11am, but didn't add the chicken till about 4pm. I figured since I'm home, I could prevent it from drying out this way. I added the corn and turned the setting to Warm around 6:30pm. It looks like regular chili before the cream cheese, which is not as enticing as the picture on the recipe's page. I didn't think this would fit very well in my smaller slow cooker, but it fit fine even after I added the chicken and corn.
Anyway, this turned out great. I was worried about how the cream cheese would sit, so I decided to add it to each lunch box in the morning rather than all together like the recipe says.
Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper White Bean Chili
YIELD: SERVES 6-8
INGREDIENTS
1 cup chopped yellow or white onion
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/2 cup red or yellow bell pepper, small diced
1 pound chicken breasts, trimmed of fat (about 2 chicken breasts)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
12 ounces dry white beans, rinsed and picked through to remove any stones or bad beans
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces light cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
6-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled or chopped
DIRECTIONS
Add all the ingredients except the cream cheese, corn and bacon to a 5-quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.
Remove the chicken and chop into pieces or shred into bite-sized pieces. See the note above about thickening part of the soup. Make your decision. Then return the chicken to the slow cooker.
Stir in the cubed cream cheese and the corn. Cover the slow cooker to let the cream cheese soften and the corn heat through, about 10-15 minutes.
Stir to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with the crumbled bacon.