The Good, The Great, And The Ugly

Sometimes I make beautiful food. Today's post is not about that. If you want that, look here. Or here. Or even here. Today is about flavor. Loads of flavor. And an easy recipe that allows you to toss a bunch of ingredients in your slow cooker and forget about it until dinner time. It's tasty. It's easy. It's fantastic … but it's not pretty:

White chicken chili includes some of my favorite ingredients: garlic, onion, jalapeños, and chicken thighs. However, when you toss those plus beans, chicken stock, and seasonings in a slow cooker and let it simmer for a day, what you get tastes amazing and looks … well, kinda nondescript and boring. But trust me, the fact that there's no lipstick on this one will not leave you disappointed. Grab your favorite chili condiments and a bowl and it's time for dinner!

I can easily make a meal out of a bowl of this with some toppings and corn chips. That said, you can always have corn muffins alongside it. And hey, it's a great excuse to crack open your favorite beer or cider and have a pint, too. I like putting a bottle of green hot sauce out on the table for those with a palette wanting a bit more heat, too.

A word about the dried peppers called for in this recipe. If you don't have dried jalapeños on hand, you can opt for fresh or canned chiles. However, the dried option offered by Penzeys is particularly well-suited to a slow-cooked recipe like this and you will be pleased at how infused the flavor is throughout the dish. I keep dried peppers from them on hand for many of my slow-cooked dishes and the green jalapeños are really perfect for a white chili recipe like this. Good color, good flavor, good heat! But yeah, kinda ugly.