Mr. D and I are in Northern Michigan at the lake house with my parents. We drove up to visit them after I spent some time earlier this week working on my new interior design project. (GAAACK – it’s a HUGE job – more to come on that later!) The town we’re near is called Harbor Springs, however their house is about 20 minutes outside of town. It is perched on the cliff overlooking Lake Michigan, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. This place is truly my Heaven on earth! The weather is cool. These days the temp is topping out at 65 degrees and it’s dropping into the 40′s at night. The sun is shining, but it is cool enough this morning that we have a fire crackling in the fireplace. Yesterday I drove around with the car windows down (listening to Motown-YAY!) and saw a twinge of the leaves changing in the woods.

As I suspected, over the last few years my mother has added many new recipes to her repertoire. During this visit I will attempt to wrangle them in, organize, and hopefully get started on the second edition of “her cookbook.” This kind of weather we’re having in Northern Michigan calls for hot, well seasoned food so tonight we’re making a Sausage/Potato/Spinach Lasagna. Last night we made her White Chili recipe. You should bookmark both of these recipes for when the Fall weather hits your neck of the woods!

As you may have guessed by the name of this post, I am sharing this delectable chili recipe with you today. It is a definite winner! Keep in mind that this recipe is doubled allowing for hungry husbands. It can be gobbled up for lunch in the days after you make it, or you can freeze leftovers for a rainy day in the future. Which reminds me, I recently found this nifty chart that helps with scaling recipes. If you ever find the need to convert a recipe and want confirmation that you’ve done the math right check yourself right here.

2 Boxes of Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter
2 large onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon plus 1 Teaspoon of Minced Garlic
2 4oz cans of Green Chilies with liquid
2 48oz jars of Great Northern Beans with liquid
1 Tablespoon plus 1 Teaspoon of Ground Cumin
2 teaspoons of Oregano
4-8 dashes of hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts poached/baked or sautéed and cubed (I cut the chicken into cubes, pour chicken broth into a sauté pan and cook over medium high heat until the chicken is white throughout.)

As a side note: I would like to adapt this recipe to use ground turkey breast and chicken sausage. I think it might add to the flavor – next time I make it, I will let you know if I have come up with a suitable variation of this recipe.

I find it easiest to start by cooking the chicken. Set it aside. After the soup is simmering, simply add it to the stock pot.

In a separate pan on the side: Season cubed chicken breast with salt and pepper. Set the stovetop on medium high heat. Pour enough of the chicken broth into a sauté pan to cook the cubed chicken breast until it is white throughout.

In your large stock pot heat 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil and 1 Tablespoon Butter. (The olive oil will keep the butter from burning in the pan.)

Add the chopped onion, sprinkle with a dash of sea salt. This will allow the onions to release water and become wilted, translucent and hot.

Add the minced garlic. Continue to sauté for a minute or two more.

Add the chilies (including the juice!) and stir well.

Add the beans (including the liquid!) and stir again.

Mix in all the spices – being sure to coat the vegetables and beans.

Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Add cooked chicken pieces, remaining broth in the sauté pan and continue to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Posted by Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo / Nesting and totally delicious dishes and Uncategorized