Meal Idea Monday

White Bean Chicken Chili


1 lb. dried Great Northern Beans
2 medium onions, chopped
1 TBS olive oil
3 (4.oz) cans chopped green chilies, undrained
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
6 cups chicken broth
5 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ C. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

-Sort and rinse beans; place in a large pot. Cover with 2 inches of water; let soak overnight. Drain; set beans aside.
-Sauté onion in hot oil in Dutch oven over med-high heat until tender. Add green chilies and next 3 ingredients; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add beans and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer 2 hours or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally.
-Add chicken, 1 c. cheese, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in cilantro if desired.
-To serve, ladle chili into soup bowls. Top each with remaining cheese. Yields: 13 cups.

-For the chicken broth, I keep the broth from boiling the chicken. When boiling the chicken, I add minced garlic, a couple bay leaves and some chicken bouillon. The broth is excellent. I put the extra in a container in the freezer, for future chicken noodle soup. This recipe is from Southern Living...and it SOO good!