Jen's White Chicken Chili

I made this white chicken chili for the General RS Broadcast and had several requests for it that night - the funny thing is that I started off with a white chicken chili but I thought it was too spicy and not very colorful, so I started adding things.  I'll try to remember what I did. 

1 pound dried navy beans, rinsed, soaked and drained.  (I did the quick soak method, with 2 min of boiling).

5-6 cups chicken broth (I used the broth from my chicken, plus 1-2 boxes)

4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick)

2 tbsp. garlic, minced

1 med. onion, diced

1 jalapeno, diced (with seeds if you want spicy)

1 can green chilies

2 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. italian seasoning (or use oregano & basil)

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1-2 cans kidney beans

1 can Rotel Tomatoes

1 lb. chicken, chopped (or use a rotisserie chicken or a whole chicken de-boned)
Salt & Pepper, to taste

For the broadcast, I took a frozen whole chicken and placed it in my crockpot with about 4 cups water and carrots, onions, celery, rosemary twigs, garlic & season salt.  I let that cook for about 10 hours on low.  Once cooled, I de-boned the chicken, diced it up, and set aside. I then strained the broth to use as part of my chicken stock. You could totally just buy a Rotisserie Chicken or cook your own chicken breasts and omit cooking your own chicken.

Rinse beans and soak for 2 hours, drain. Set aside.

Place beans in large pot with 5-6 cups chicken stock and bring to boil over high heat. 

In a small food processor, mince the onion, garlic, and jalapeno - together is fine.

In a saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, jalapeno & canned chilies and saute for 5 minutes.

Add this mixture to the pot of boiling beans.

Add diced chicken, cumin, italian seasoning, pepper,  and red pepper flakes.

Add 1 can Rotel Tomatoes.

Lower heat to medium and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add 1-2 cans of kidney beans, drained. 

Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until all the beans are done. 

You may add some cilantro leaves, if desired.   
Add salt to taste - this will be a personal preference, but beans needs a lot of salt!