White Chicken Chili Casserole

So maybe I might have mentioned this but, I love all foods Tex-Mex.  Back when I was doing Weight Watchers with my BF, I tried to come up with some creative ways to eat those flavors without all the calories.  This is tough when you are a  mouse like me and feel the more cheese the better!  I created a recipe for a White Chicken Chili that I could eat with a few chips and used a bean puree as the base to keep it rich and creamy without a lot of cream.  The key to making the chili "white" is omitting the traditional tomato base in the recipe and using white beans instead of red kidneys.

I found this recipe the other day and decided I would make it again.  It has some really nice flavors and fun ingredients.  It, like many of my home-made concoctions, can be made with plenty of changes and substitutions to suit your palate.  It isn't very spicy but you can easily spice it up with addition of jalapenos or perhaps a bit of cayenne pepper in the base. 

Now, this finished dish isn't very pretty--but since green is my absolute favorite color, I think it was a nice visual journey as it went along! (Don't panic...it isn't green at the end) Best part, the smells that come out of the kitchen while you are making it are fan-tas-tic!

Wondering about tomatillos?  Click here...

Now for the recipe:

White Chicken Chili Casserole
Bake Time 30-35 minutes
Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4-5 tomatillos, diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• 1 cans white beans (navy and or cannellini), rinsed and drained
• 3/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (can use 2%)
• bunch scallions chopped (for garnish)

For Sauce

• 1 can of white beans (navy or cannellini), rinsed and drained
• 2 cans of green chilies
• 1 T cumin
• 1 T chili powder
• ½ cup sour cream (low fat or non-fat does great)

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Put chicken thighs in a saucepan filled 2/3 of the way with water.  Season the water with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Cook on high and bring to a boil.  Cook about 15 minutes until chicken is white and cooked through.

2.    While the chicken is boiling…sauté onions, tomatillos, and garlic in 1T olive oil on medium high until soft.  Add cilantro and sauté an additional 2 minutes; remove from heat and set aside.

3.    In a blender or food processor, puree 1 can of the white beans, both cans of green chilies, cumin and chili powder until smooth.  Add sour cream and blend again until incorporated.

4.    Drain cooked chicken and transfer to a cutting board to cool a bit then shred the chicken with two forks.

5.    Add chicken and other can of beans to onion and tomatillo mix.  Spread this in the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish.  Pour bean puree over top.  Bake, covered, in a 350⁰ oven for 25-30 minutes. 

6.    Remove lid and sprinkle the top with cheese, bake an additional 5 minutes uncovered.

7.    Serve with scallions and a side of tortilla chips. 

Look at those beautiful spices!  They bring such a nice color to the bean puree...

Post sour cream...all blended into submission!

To pep it up, you could add jalapenos into the puree, chunks into the saute or fresh slices on the top as garnish.  Having them as a choice of garnish is a nice option to keep the dish mild and allow people to add the spice to their own taste.  Other nice garnish options are more fresh, chopped cilantro and some lime wedges (for the Corona's, of course!).  Another possible substitution to make this dish to your taste is monetary jack cheese-which would add to the "white" theme of this chili dish.  The possibilities are almost endless!

Now...we just need something cool and creamy (with a hint of green) to eat for dessert!  Coming up in the next blog...Mint Chocolate Pudding Pots!!

Yumalicious Dishes!