Today has been a rainy day. Woke up to pouring rain and by this afternoon it was just a slight drizzle when we went grocery shopping. This weather had me thinking about making white chili for lunch but then I realized that we didn’t have any milk or sour cream. So I had to wait until after we went shopping, so that was what was for dinner.

I have not been able to perfect a recipe for regular chili, so when Jeff wants it, he has to reach for a can. LOL! I’ve tried several times, but they’ve always failed to pass the taste test. But I have perfected a recipe for white chili and make it a few times a year. The recipe I use doesn’t call for chicken, but has it listed as optional.

I’m not sure where I found this recipe, but I wrote it down at some point and use it several times a year.

• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of white chili beans (DO NOT drain or rinse)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (You can taste while cooking and add more if you want)
• onion salt or powder, if wanted, I just use a sprinkling, don’t measure
• 1/2 cup whipping cream or half and half
• 1 cup sour cream
• Optional items from the original recipe: 2 cups shredded chicken; undrained green chilies; onion; pinch of cayenne

Add chicken broth, beans and spices to a pan and cook on medium or medium-low for 30 minutes or so stirring occasionally.

When it has cooked down and thickened and you are ready to serve remove from heat and add the sour cream and whipping cream or half and half and stir until it has blended in and serve immediately.

Adding the sour cream and whipping cream or half and half will add more liquid to the beans so I usually let it cook down so that it doesn’t end up soupy when added. But if you do get it too soupy you can thicken with a cornstarch slurry. I’ve had to do that a time or two.

We have with cornbread rather than crackers. You can garnish with toppings of your choice.

For my cornbread I use a quick little recipe that my mother-in-law shared with me right after we married. She said use half as much self-rising flour as cornmeal. I add 1 egg and then add milk and stir until I get it to the consistency I want. Bake in a cast iron skillet until it turns brown and pulls away from the pan. There really isn’t a written recipe, just a passed down mental note. She used to say that she didn’t cook her’s like her Mom did. She said that Gran liked for the top to be brown and she just liked it to be a little golden. So she would tell her that her cornbread wasn’t done because it was too light.

Hope you enjoy this cool weather recipe!