I Won't Even Charge 25 Cents...

I made it late on Thursday night and it simmered until Friday morning. All the white beans, chicken, cilantro, cloves, green chilis and cumin rubbed off on each other all night long. Then only a few hours before dropping my chili off at the table with the twelve other chilis, I added a heaping 4 oz. of jalapenos and the result was a biting heat that hit your tongue a few seconds after a a tiny spoonful of the green chili goodness.

My chili at Regent’s 2009 Chili Cook-Off did not win any prizes, but in my opinion it was it was good, downright delicious. I did get a few compliments too. I even had a request that I post the recipe on my blog. So here is my not-so-winning, aromatic and innovative green chili recipe. I won't even charge you 25 cents for it like the last year's winners were charging for their recipes. Beware though, I did have one chili-taster tell me that he could not finish his sample because it was too spicy. Luckily, it was a one time comment. Otherwise the response to my recipe was quite positive.

The initial recipe for this white chili came from simplyrecipes.com. Just to put my own edge on the chili and make it a little personal, I had to improvise the recipe a little. Give it my own western, Tex-Mex touch. Green chili is nothing new to my family and now it does not have to be new to yours. Enjoy.

Hot Green Chili

6 cups chicken broth

1 can great northern beans

1 can cannelloni beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can navy beans

1 lb. chicken breast or boneless thigh meat

1/4 stick of butter

1 garlic clove, minced

2 medium onions, chopped (divided)

2 4-ounce cans chopped green chilies

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 can diced tomatoes

1 4-oz. can of diced jalapenos

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

1. Dice chicken into dime-sized pieces. Believe me, this will take a little while. Peel garlic clove, crush and mince into small pieces. Then sauté the chicken in a non-stick saucepan with ¼ stick of butter and minced garlic. Dice both onions and add to the chicken and sauté. After about five minutes add both cans of green chilis to the chicken mixture, then add cumin, oregano, cloves and pepper. Mix thorough and cover. Allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.

2. In a large crock pot combine chicken broth and beans on high and allow to boil. Add chicken mixture from the skillet and allow to simmer overnight. Allowing the chili to simmer overnight will soften the beans and thicken the broth. In the morning the whole mixture should look more like chili than stew. Add the can of tomatoes and jalapenos and salt to taste. If necessary add more red pepper flakes, cloves or oregano.

Add the cheese and any remaining cilantro. Both items will enhance the taste as you eat the chili! Enjoy! You will have lots of chili!