White Bean Soup

I COMPLETELY forgot to take pictures of this one today, and I’m so mad! We had some friends over for dinner today, and I was rushing a little bit to get it done.

This is one of our absolute favorite meals, and it’s perfect for the rainy, blustery, cold days of fall and winter (just like today). It also makes quite a bit, so we can have it twice more. I put some in the freezer this time, to see if it freezes well, and I will report back when I know.

Don’t be put off by the whipping cream and sour cream - I put this recipe in our calorie counter, and it is actually pretty good for you. Yay! And be sure to use a large enough pot.

White Bean Chili

1 lb chicken breast, cubed and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder
1 medium onion, chopped small
1 tbsp olive oil

Saute onions in oil for a minute or two. Add chicken and saute until chicken is cooked through. Then add…

2 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans green chili’s
40-48 oz chicken broth (5-6 cubes of chicken bouillon + 5-6 cups boiling water)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp white pepper (if you don’t have it, some finely ground black pepper is fine, but not as much)
¼ tsp cayenne (or to taste, if you want more, less, or none)
bit of nutmeg and cinnamon

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. I usually cover it so that too much of the liquid doesn’t evaporate (I like a lot of broth). Remove from the heat, and add…

1 cup sour cream
¾ cup whipping cream

Stir until heated through and sour cream is mostly incorporated. Sometimes it doesn’t fully incorporate right away, but it’s fine. Also, when you put it in the fridge, the cream and the water may separate. It looks a little weird, but it is just fine. Just mix it up again before you serve it for leftovers.

We like ours with a little kick, but if we are giving this to the kiddo, I don’t add the cayenne or too much pepper.

One last funny thing. I originally got this recipe about two years ago from a friend in our old ward. Then, the other day I was looking through the recipes on another food blog that I follow. She was talking about this white chicken chili that she absolutely loved, and provided the link for where she had gotten it (where they also showed where they found it). I followed it and, lo and behold, it’s my white bean chili recipe! Makes me wonder where the recipe actually started....