Cold Weather = Chili Time!

White Bean and Chicken Chili with a Homemade Whole Wheat Garlic-Parmesan Drop Biscuit

There's nothing like a hearty soup on a cold snowy day! As soon as I found out that it was going to snow in the mountains, I immediately pondered the idea of making chili. I wanted to make something a little different than typical bean and beef chili, so I went by the local fruit and veggie stand near my apartment. As soon as I saw the new bins of raw beans and fresh bundles of kale, I knew what I wanted to make!

Ingredients for the chili:

1 cup of raw white Great Northern Beans

8 cups of chicken broth (low sodium)

1 bunch of kale

1 white onion (coarsely chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 serrano chili (minced)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

about 7-8 chicken tenderloins

*cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper

I cooked the beans in 50/50, chicken broth /water. This was the hardest part of the entire recipe. If you have never cooked raw beans before, be sure to keep checking on them throughout the hour to hour and a half of cooking. Beans absorb water quickly, so you want to make sure they do not burn.

In the mean time, while your beans are cooking, you can chop your onion, and mince your garlic and serrano chili. Set aside your minced chili for later and saute the onion and garlic together in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Once slightly tender, rake onions into a bowl to add to the chili later. use the same pan to saute the kale. set this aside in a bowl as well.

Boil the chicken in water for about 30 minutes or until the center is no longer pink and a internal temperature of 165 degrees is met. Once cooked, let the tenderloins cool and shred (I just used my hands to shred them).

Ingredients for the Garlic-Parmesan Biscuit:

1/2 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup or grated parmesan cheese

3/8 cup of milk (I used soy, and it worked just fine)

2 tablespoons of butter

1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

1/2 tablespoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spread olive oil on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, garlic powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Then add the butter using your fingers until you create a crumbly dough. Stir in the parmesan until evenly combined.

Create a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the milk. Mix until combined.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Flour your hands then knead the dough 8-10 times.

Place "handful sized" mounds of dough on the oiled baking sheet, then bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the tops start browning. While warm, put extra parmesan on the biscuits.

* Be sure not to over-bake or the biscuits will be too dry!

Enjoy!

(Please excuse the lack of style in this picture)