>U Mom Knows Best: Quick And Easy White Bean Chili

Friday, February 21, 2014

Quick And Easy White Bean Chili

With a couple of ingredients, you can make dinner quickly


 Are you looking for an easy quick dinner idea? How about a recipe for dinner that uses a slow cooker? If you are like me, you like to plan ahead and have dinner ready before dinner time. That way you can be ahead of the dinner time madness and hungry kids. You will love this meatless recipe that uses frugal ingredients like beans and simple spices that you probably have in your pantry.


 Beans are a common ingredient in my pantry. I like to stock up on both canned beans and dried beans. The canned beans are great for last-minute dinners and the beans that are dried are an economical food choice for ingredients that are loaded with protein. Not only are beans a good source of protein, but they are also loaded with fiber and other nutritious vitamins. Beans are the perfect ingredients for meatless meals. Beans are vegan and plant-based and can be enjoyed on a gluten-free diet. Many vegetarian meals call for beans.

 Yesterday I needed something that was quick and easy to make for dinner. My husband invited some people over for dinner at the last minute and I did not have a clue of what to serve. We had people over the night before and I did not feel like cooking for guests again. That afternoon as I was reading Facebook, I came across a blog with a recipe for chicken burrito soup that looked awesome. I don't eat meat and did not have tortilla chips in the house so her recipe inspired me to make chili. This recipe reminded me of how easy it is to make chili in the slow cooker. To make chili in a slow cooker, just toss in a couple of ingredients and plug it in. I love that I can start my food in the morning on low or in the afternoon on high. The best part is dinner is ready at dinner time.

 My chili recipe uses canned beans but can use ones made from dried beans. I usually make beans in the slow cooker and then freeze them in 2 cup portions- keep reading until the end to get my recipe for cooking beans in the slow cooker. That way I have cooked beans that are ready to use in recipes. This easy recipe also uses salsa so it is a good way to use up that jar of salsa that is in your fridge. Any variety of salsa will work, hot or mild. Once the white bean chili is done, serve it in bowls with shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and avocados. This recipe serves 4-6 people.


Quick And Easy White Bean Chili 

                         6 cups great northern beans or 3 cans
                         1 cup of salsa
                          2 cups chicken broth
                          1 cup of water
                         12-16 ounce bag of frozen corn
                        1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
                         1 teaspoon chili powder
                       
Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese.




Slow Cooker Beans

Pour a package of dried beans in the slow cooker. Cover the beans with water, several inches above the beans. Cook on high for 6 hours. Drain the beans and rinse with cool water. Freeze the beans in 2 cup portions. I like to put the 2 cup bean portions into sandwich bags and then into a larger ziplock bag to make finding them easier in the freeze. I use this method for for all kinds of dried beans so I have a variety of beans in my freezer. Beans can be frozen for up to a year or longer. 




6 comments:

Yona Williams said...

Earlier today I saw a recipe for White Chicken Chili, and now I see your White Bean Chili...I am going to have to try making my own slow cooker beans...I would like to do that instead of using a can.

Buzz4Mommies said...

This sounds terrific! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, I have been looking for something just like this. It will be great on a cold day!

Unknown said...

I've been seeing a lot of white bean things out there and I love bean soup. I'm going to have to try this.

Alison Shaffer said...

wow, that looks great! nice easy recipe to feed the family. I love the corn and beans in the recipe.

Jamie said...

Yum, that looks good - pinning this one to try later!

Unknown said...

That looks so good. I never tried white bean chili before.

Michelle F.

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