Little House on the Prairie: White Chicken Chili

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"Bean porridge hot, bean porridge cold

bean porridge in the pot, nine days old

Some like it hot, some like it cold

Some like it in the pot, nine days old."

- On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder

I want you to know that America's Test Kitchen has almost NEVER steered me wrong. And this recipe is no exception.  This is PRIZE WINNING chili. I have literally won a prize in a chili cook off for making this. It is DELISH! And I concede that Laura Ingalls Wilder probably never ate this particular kind of chili, but I can almost guarantee she would have loved it. Everyone else I know does. Enjoy! 

White Chicken Chili
Very slightly adapted from America's Test Kitchen

3 cans Cannellini Beans, rinsed and drained
1 16oz can White Hominy
2 Cans Chicken Broth
salt
6 Bone in, Skin on Chicken Thighs (The cheap kind- yay!)
1 TBSP veggie oil
2 onions
4 Jalapenos, de-seeded
6 Cloves Garlic
4 tsp. Cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
2 TBSP drained jarred pickled jalapenos, chopped fine

1. Puree 1 can beans with the hominy, a can of broth, and 3/4 tsp. salt until totally smooth. Pour in crock pot.
2. Pat the chicken dry and salt and pepper both sides. Heat oil on med high heat til just smoking in a large skillet, and add the chicken breasts to the pan, skin side down. Cook them there for 5-10 minutes, or until the skin gets nicely browned and crispy. Take them off the heat and when you can handle them, take the skin off and throw them in the crock pot.
3. Pour off all but 1 TBSP of grease from the chicken pan. Finely chop the onion and jalapeno. I like to throw them in the food processor. Then add them to the pan with 1/2 tsp salt and cook til golden. Mince the garlic, and add along with the cumin, and coriander. Cook just 30 seconds more. Add HALF of this mix to the crock pot, and reserve the other half.
4. Add the rest of the beans to the crock pot, and cook on low for 4 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. Take the thighs out and shred the meat, discarding the bones. Put the chicken back in along with 1/2 of the cilantro you have chopped and the other half of the onion mixture, and your pickled jalapenos. Mix it all up and garnish with remaining cilantro, avocado, lime, and sour cream. OR none of that. My family loved it just plain too :)

Bonus: It travels well!
Wouldn't you love to find this in your lunch pail?