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By popular request (Jason), here is my recipe for White Chili. I made it LAST week, and at an ill-fated moment, closed the program I was writing in accidentally, and it didn’t have a “don’t you want to save the current document” fail-safe. Shucks. So I cussed the app and went to bed.

First of all, I don’t have this “White Food Fetish.” It’s a pure coincidence and the MOST basic variation on a theme towards 2 of my popular scoops. What follows is the recipe for:
Eric’s White Chilli!

Ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 stick butter
1 large onion (white or yellow, DICED)
1 entire bulb of garlic (peeled and smashed)
2 16 oz. cans of chicken broth
1 lb. dry navy beans
1 lb. dry great northern beans
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 16 oz. can of evaporated milk (or nearly 32 oz. regular milk, your choice)
1 lb. shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C. chopped cilantro
1 T. oregano
2 T. crushed red pepper flakes
1 T. paprika
1 T. black pepper
2 T. lime juice
salt to taste

Accompaniment:
sour cream or ranch dressing
chopped cilantro, parsley, green onions, jalapeño slices
warm tortilla strips
full-blown quesadillas

Okay…this is not only a set of “assembly instructions” but plenty of chop-chop efficiency tips around the kitchen. Tip one: Throw all the above junk on the counter and get ready to fly. But first, let’s talk beans…If you don’t have time to soak or cook DRY beans, replace with DOUBLE the amount of canned beans.

Don’t know about you, but my chicky breasts are always frozen solid. Well, for this dish, toss ‘em in the Nuke and crank it up to 4-6 minutes…the goal is to go from frozen to mostly cooked whilst thou assemblest the other blessed ingredients.

Grab the biggest dutch oven, soup kettle, or cauldron you can find in your kitchen. Cover the bottom with olive oil, drop in the butter, and turn up the heat to med/hi and start to soften your onions and garlic. Deglaze the pot with the chicken broth. Then add the beans and blend the mixture well.

By this time, hopefully, the chicken breasts are cooked through enough for you to be able to easily to dice or shred the chicken. Also, dump the rendered liquid from your microwave dish into the pot. After dicing the chicken, add to mix. Bring the soup to a simmer.

Now, add the evaporated milk, the cheeses, and the rest of the herbs, spices, and lime juice. Taste and adjust with salt, more milk, broth, or water to your taste.

Serve with the garnishes above nice and hot and get ready for seconds!

Fire up that inkjet, I promise this recipe will please. You’ll see some of my shortcuts which make this meal a bit more convenient, but still provide a strong base for an impressive pie.

Ingredients(dough):
Double Batch of Pizza Dough (I use a simple bread machine recipe with the following mods.)
Add-ins:
1 T. Garlic Powder
1 T. Oregano

If you don’t have or wish to use a breadh machine, just follow the recipe anyhow and beat the heck out of the dough ball, before letting it rise, covered, in a warm spot…perhaps on top of the stove as you preheat your oven. By the way, Preheat your oven to 500F.

Toppings:
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 C. Freshly Chopped Parsley
1/2 C. Freshly Chopped Green Onions
1 Bulb of Garlic, Smashed and Peeled
1 Jar of Store-bought Alfredo Sauce
8 Oz. “Italian Blend” Shredded Cheese
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Before your bread machine finishes, toss the frozen chicken into the microwave and zap it up for a good long while. Don’t be afraid to cook the chicken. You’re going to toss it in a saute pan later, so might as well save some time by MOSTLY cooking your chicken in the microwave. But ultimately, your preference.

When your dough has finished rising, turn it out onto a floured counter or board and flatten by hand. Depending on how resistant the dough is, I may continue to flatten by hand or turn to the rolling pin. Wipe some olive oil on your favorite pizza pan, and dust with cornmeal for that “restaurant feel.” Not essential, but a nice touch. Brush the top of your dough with a light coating of olive oil. Set aside.

Dice your chicken, and discard any tendon or gristly bits. Check for doneness. Saute the garlic, onions, and parsley in some olive oil. Once the garlic cloves start to brown, toss in the chicken. Time it by “feel.” if the chicken was thoroughly cooked in the Nuke, then you are essentially just adding a bit of browning to it. You might also want to toss the chicken broth that cooked out in the microwave in your saute pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Once it all is tossed well, set aside.

Drizzle, then spread the alfredo sauce across your crust. Spread the chicken mixture evenly across the crust and top with cheese. I prefer another drizzle of olive oil on top of it all.

Bake this bad boy until the cheese begins to brown and the crust is good and finished!

Enjoy with some crushed red pepper and a beverage of your choice!