Excerpt
Green and White Lightning Chunky Chicken Chili
4 servings
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil (2 turns of the pan)
6 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons ground cumin (2 palmfuls)
1 tablespoon ground coriander (a palmful)
1 cup mild or hot tomatillo salsa (green salsa on Mexican Foods aisle)
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1 can (15-ounces) cannellini or Great Northern beans
1 handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, for garnish
1 individual lunch-box-size bag of corn chips, optional and not that dangerous
Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil. Add the chicken to the hot oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, and coriander and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, continuing to stir. Add the tomatillo salsa and the chicken stock. Bring the chili up to a simmer. Add half of the beans. With a fork thoroughly mash the other half of the beans, then add to the chili. This method will help to thicken the chili. Simmer the chili for 10 minutes. Remove the chili from the heat and add the cilantro, parsley, and lime juice.
Serve each bowl of chili with a little shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top. Oh, and go ahead, have a chip or two! I crush up a small bag and stir them right in!
Confession:
To be Honest, I eat chili as an excuse to eat corn chips. I rarely need a spoon as all: one chip, two chips, three chips...well, it can get ugly is all Im saying. To help keep my corn chip obsession in check and still feel satisfied, I buy one individual lunch-box-size bag of chips. This way I dont have that big gorgeous bag of chips dangerously calling my name from the cupboard. If I dont have then, I dont eat them. I exert my self-control at the supermarket.