White Bean-Chicken Chili with Tomatillos

Our pantry is FULL.  We went on a few too many shopping trips to ethnic grocery stores so I am now fully stocked on a TON of spices, all kinds of dried grains and legumes, and noodles from several different international cuisines.  My challenge for this week is to use up as much of that stuff as possible to make room for fun new finds.  One of the ingredients I had to choose from was a partially-full bag of dried white beans.  With those in mind, I perused the rest of the kitchen to see what I could come up with.

I also happened to have a produce drawer full of tomatillos and and jalapenos, and two chicken breasts in the freezer.  I had seen a few recipes for white bean chili over the past couple days, and decided to try coming up with my own version.  I defrosted the chicken, and cooked up some white beans (but canned would work fine too).  It's a pretty healthy recipe, as long as you stay away from excessive amounts of cheese or sour cream as garnish!

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

10 medium tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, and chopped

3 jalapenos, stems removed and chopped

1 tsp salt

pepper

1 1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups cooked white beans, drained

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup frozen corn

In a dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. 

Add the onion and garlic, and cook for several minutes, until the onions are soft.

Stir in the jalapenos and tomatillos and cook, stirring, for a minute or two.

Add the cubed chicken, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and cumin and stir well.

Stir in the broth and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. (The chicken should no longer be pink on the outside).

Stir in the beans and tomato paste, turn the heat down slightly, and simmer partially covered for about 20 minutes.  

Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Just before serving, stir in the frozen corn and let it heat through.

Serve with sour cream or a sprinkling of grated cheese.