White bean and chicken chili

This week my younger sister came to visit with her 4 month old son.  We met up at my parent’s house right before noon, and my mother made mention of the fact that she forgot to go to the store to pick up something for lunch.  One of my favorite things to do is make meals from random pantry and fridge items.  So I quickly got to work.

First I checked out the fridge and pantry shelves.

There wasn’t much in the fridge other than drinks and condiments, but I did find a bag in the freezer with one large chicken breast.  The pantry had a decent amount of canned goods to work with, so I was confident I could pull something together.

Here’s what I ended up with:

I pulled out some diced tomatoes, white beans, corn and peppers, chicken broth, rice, lime juice, and tortillas.  All the fixings for a southwestern style chicken and bean chili!  In the spice cabinet, I found some cilantro, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin.

Once I had everything together and a plan in mind, this recipe only took about 15 minutes to prepare.  Check out the recipe below!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice

3 cups water

2 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp cilantro

Directions:

1.  Add all ingredients to a large microwave safe bowl and cover.  Cook on high for 10 minutes.

2.  Stir and cook again for 5 for minutes.

3.  Remove from microwave and set aside.

White Bean and Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast

1 Tbs oil

1 can corn with peppers

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can white beans

2 cans chicken broth

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tbs cornstarch

1/4 cup water

 

Directions:

1.  Trim chicken of all fat and cut into small cubes.

2.  Heat pot to medium-high and add in oil.

3.  Add chicken to pot and cook until no longer pink.

4.  Drain tomatoes, beans, and corn.  Add to pot.

5.  Season mixture with spices, stirring well to coat.

6.  Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil.

7.  Whisk cornstarch and water together, making sure to break up any lumps.  Add into pot and stir until thickened.

8.  Remove from heat.

 

Tortilla Strips

Ingredients:

2 small tortillas

1 Tbs oil

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450.

2.  Cut tortillas into strips.

3.  Toss with oil until coated.

4.  Spread strips out on a pan and bake until browned.

5. Remove from heat and use to top chili.

 

To serve, place a scoop of rice into each bowl.  Ladle the chili over the rice and top with tortilla strips.  If you have sour cream, it makes a great addition to this tasty dish!

Just because you haven’t gone shopping or you don’t have a meal planned, doesn’t mean that you don’t have the ingredients you need already in your kitchen.  Putting together a last minute meal is easier than it seems, it just requires you to think outside the box!

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