Michael's White Chicken Chili

The other night I made a delicious treat for Joe and I using a few simple-to-aquire ingredients. The idea came from Michael Hannan, who as an intern at the firm, won the office-wide Chili Cookoff with this recipe. It can be tweaked as necessary and makes enough to fill a 6 quart Crockpot.

• 1 can navy beans, undrained
• 1 large onion, chopped small
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter – separate into 2 T & 6 T
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 cups half-and-half OR substitute 2% milk
• 2 T Tabasco, or to taste
• 3 t chili powder
• 2 t ground cumin
• 1 t salt, or to taste
• 1 t white pepper, or to taste
• one or two 4-ounce cans whole mild green chilies, drained and chopped (depends on how much you like them)
• 1 can whole corn, undrained
• 5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds), cooked and cut into 1/2-inch pieces OR 1 large rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack (about 6 ounces)
• 1/2 cup sour cream

1. In a skillet cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat until softened.
2. In a 6- to 8-quart heavy kettle, melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes.
3. Stir in onion and gradually add broth and half-and-half, whisking constantly.
4. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened.
5. Stir in Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, salt, and white pepper.
6. Add beans, chilies, chicken, corn, and Monterey Jack and cook mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, 20 minutes. Can also put it in a Crockpot and let it sit on low for a while.

7. Stir sour cream into chili & serve.

It is delicious and really easy to make, especially if you have rotisserie chicken available from your local grocery store.

Enjoy!