White Chicken Chili Recipe

I tried a new White Chicken Chili Recipe yesterday that my Mom gave to me.  She had made a pot of it a couple weeks ago when she watched my boys for me while I was scrapbooking and Parker LOVED it.  I think he ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner the entire weekend! lol  He is my picky one so I knew I had to get the recipe and try it out myself!  I posted on my FB page yesterday that I was making it and I had some requests for the recipe so I thought I would share it here with all of you!  Here is a picture of it once all the prep work was done and it was in the crockpot.  The picture doesn't really do it justice...I wish you could smell it through the computer screen! lol

Ingredients:

3 lbs of chicken breast

48 ounces of white beans (can use whatever kind you want, I used Northern Beans)

1 large onion diced onion
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup flour
14 ounces of chicken broth
14 ounces of diced tomatoes with green chilis (I used Rotel)
1 can of green chilies
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder
2 cups of shredded mexican cheese
sour cream

OPTIONAL (to kick up the heat a bit):
Add 2 teaspoons of Tabasco Sauce or
Add 2 teaspoons of Pampered Chef Chipolte Rub Seasoning (this is what I used)

Recipe:

Coat chicken breast with chili powder on both sides and then brown in a saute pan with olive oil and butter.  Once browned on both sides, turn heat down on pan to finish cooking chicken.  When chicken is finished, remove it from pan for cooling and take the chopped onions and add it to the same pan you just cooked the chicken in.  Let the onions saute in the left over drippings from the chicken. 

While onions are sauteing, take a saucepan and add the stick of butter in it to melt.  Once the butter is melted whisk in the 1/4 cup of flour over moderate heat.  Whisking the entire time while it browns up a little.  Once onions are finished add them into the butter and flour mixture followed with the chicken broth and whipping cream.  It is important to keep whisking the entire time so the mixture doesn't burn.  Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 30 seconds (still whisking) allowing it to thicken up a bit. 

Now you can decide if you want to place all the ingredients in the crockpot to finish up or go ahead and finish it in a big stock pot right on your stove.  I picked the crockpot.  In the crockpot first I added the beans, the Rotel tomatoes and the can of green chilies.  Once those were in, I stirred them up before adding the butter, flour, chicken broth, whipping cream and onion mixture.  Next I added the chicken, the chili powder and the chipolte seasoning.

I added the 2 cups of shredded cheese and stirred it in so it could melt just before serving.  Topped off the chili with a dab of sour cream and a little more shredded cheese on top once in the bowls for serving.  Best served with tortilla chips!  We love the Mission tortilla strips that you can get at Costco!  They are perfect for this because you can scoop the chili right up on the chip!  The best part is there was quite a bit leftover so if I can escape from the school long enough to come home for a bit to eat, I already have my lunch for the day!  Parker is taking some in his thermos for lunch today with a little side baggy of tortilla chips! 
If you try this recipe out, let me know what you think!  It certainly hit the spot last night for us with these crazy cold temperatures we've been having!  Enjoy!  We are off to school now!