White Chicken Chili

We tried a new thing last year at our big annual Ropte Family GTG: A chili cookoff!

You guys - it was a blast! While some of the guys kinda pawned off the chili making onto their wives ::ahem, Mark and Dan:: the other guys got really into it, even naming their chili. All the names were pretty much inside family jokes, so that was kinda fun too lol

All the chili was pretty tasty, but this one stole my vote. And really, who would have guessed it: My baby brother (a bachelor who has just recently decided to start cooking instead of eating out, living in an apartment in Des Moines) was the chef who introduced me to it! The name of his chili "Mars Garlic Attack" was actually on account of him slightly mis-reading the recipe, and instead of 1 1/2 TSP of garlic powder, he added 1 1/2 TBSP. He was worried that it was ruined, but it was AWESOME!

I had heard about White Chicken Chili for years, but it never really sounded that good. I've changed my mind: It's DELICIOUS! I know he said he found it on my sister's Pinterest, but I searched and searched to no avail to find it. If you know whose recipe it is, please let me know so I can add a reference!

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast cut into ½ in cubes
• 1 med onion chopped
• 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp veg oil
• 2 cans white beans drained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
• 2 cans (4 oz) chopped green chilies
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 C sour cream
• ½ C heavy whipping cream ( I sometimes use whole milk)

Directions:

Salute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat
stir in Sour Cream and Whipping Cream.

Recipe Favorites

A friend of mine asked for a few recipes lately, and while typing them out to her in an email, I figured I might as well post them on my blog :)  So here are 4 of my very favorite recipes that I know by memory anymore, since I have made them so many times :)

Goulash

1lb ground beef
½ white onion, diced
1lb elbow macaroni
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 C V8 or other tomato juice
1 C ketchup
1 Tbsp chili powder (or more)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Fry up the ground beef and onion together until browned.  At the same time, cook the macaroni in a pot of boiling water, following the directions on the package.  Drain macaroni, then add meat and other ingredients.  Simmer on medium for 20-30 minutes.

I like to eat it plain, or over buttered bread.

Taco Salad

1lb ground beef
½ white onion, diced
1 pkg taco seasoning
½ bottle French dressing (there are also recipes with Thousand Island, which are good)
1 large tomato, diced
¼ head of iceberg lettuce, shredded (also could use a package of shredded lettuce)
½ bag Doritos, crunched up
1 C shredded cheddar cheese

Fry the ground beef and onion together until browned, then drain and put in large mixing bowl.

Mix together the dressing and taco seasoning and stir into the ground beef/onion mixture.

Add remaining ingredients except Doritos and mix together.

Refrigerate until chilled.

Immediately before serving, add Doritos and stir in.

If it gets a little dry on the second serving, just add a little more French dressing (not too much!) to bring it back to life a bit.

You can eat this in a bowl, or you could put it in a tortilla shell too.

Chili

1lb ground beef
1 white onion, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can chili beans (I sometimes will add another if I feel like it)
3 Tbsp chili powder (less if you like it less spicy, more if you want it more spicy)
½ tsp ground cumin
1 can whole kernel corn, drained (optional)
2 C ketchup
½ large bottle of V8
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Fry ground beef and onion until browned, then put in large crockpot (this makes a big crockpot full, so you need a big crockpot!)

Add remaining ingredients and mix together.  Put on low (or the 8-10 hour setting) for the day in the morning, and it’ll be ready when you get home from work.

I usually have either rolls or corn bread with my chili.  We make this almost weekly in the cool fall and freezing winter months.

Millionaire Macaroni Salad

1lb Rotini (curly) noodles, cooked, drained and cooled  (really, any noodles will work, but these are best)
1/2 C (or half) green pepper, diced
1/2 C (or half) red pepper, diced
1/2 C (or half) white onion, diced
1/4 C celery, diced (apprx. 1 large stalk)
2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Sauce:
2 C mayonnaise
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 C granulated (white) sugar
1/4 C white vinegar

Combine all noodles, peppers, onion and cheese (make SURE the noodles are cold or the cheese will melt).

Combine all sauce ingredients in at least a 5C bowl.  Pour over noodle mixture and stir until blended.  Refrigerate overnight.  Makes a very large batch, and is GREAT for a summer barbecue.

Watergate Salad

1 regular container Cool Whip, softened
1 can crushed pineapple (with juice)
1 pkg instant pistachio pudding mix
1/2 C mini marshmallows

Combine crushed pineapple and pudding mix together until blended.  Add softened cool whip and mini marshmallows and stir until blended.  Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.  Great addition to a meal for both holiday meals and summer barbecues - I seldom if ever have any of this left over!

Enjoy!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask!  I'm hoping I haven't forgotten anything, but they're pretty great :)