Easy Peasy White Chicken Chili

Posted on April 7th, 2015

I know I just wrote about how I don’t mind my year of independence, but one thing that is totally not chic is cooking for one.  Time constraints aside, it’s surprisingly hard to do in a cost effective way, unless you’re okay with eating the same thing four days in a row, which I am not.  But I do actually still love to cook, so when Ian was in town last week, it seemed like the perfect excuse to roll up my sleeves and make one of my favorite recipes.

Soup and stew recipes are excellent for many reasons.  The recipes usually have lots of flexibility.  Want different spices or extra veggies?  Use what you like!  If you let the soup simmer for two hours instead of 90 minutes, it’s not overcooked, it’s just extra flavor.  When entertaining, portions are more flexible if you’re not sure exactly how many people are coming or how much they’ll want to eat.  For busy families, soups can be kept warm on the stove all evening to fit everyone’s individual schedule (although family dinners are strongly encouraged!).  And soup portions can also easily be frozen for easy weeknight meals.

Can you tell I like soup?  And this easy white chicken chili recipe is one of my favorites.  If you can open cans and jars, you’re most of the way there.  Here are the basics:

To make, sauté onion and garlic for about three minutes, and then dump all the ingredients into a big pot on your stove.  The chicken breast should be raw and whole when you put it in the pot– allow it to simmer in the soup for about an hour, then just take it out and dice it up.  The longer you allow this soup to cook, the more flavorful it will become.  Just add more chicken broth if and as needed.

When I make pretty much any recipe white chicken chili, I like to add extra vegetables– the great thing about this recipe is pretty much anything will work.  The other night, I added peas, and then I also made a side vegetable dish.  Beautiful colors on the cutting board!

To make this soup more filling, you can serve it over rice, or with a delicious Asiago roll from the Maison Kayser bakery you live on top of.  Top it with a little salsa, a little sour cream, a little cheese– whatever floats your boat!  Enjoy!