Vegetarian White Chili

I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. Life sure got crazy for a while there! It's good to be back, though, to cooking in my kitchen and to sharing some of the results with you. I have cooked much less over the last month, thanks to long hours at work and more stress than I wanted to deal with. But eating is a necessary part of life, and I pushed really hard to not fall back into the habits of prepared, over processed food. This meant lots of weekend cooking, and planning for simple weeknight meals. I fell back on some favorites during this time, and it was a great chance to revisit some of my blog favorites from the past. Below are links to some previous recipes that I recently made again.

Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Wheat Berry Salad

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers

"Lower Fat" Chocolate Chip Cookies

While it's nice to revisit some favorites, I have been eager to get back to exploring new recipes. This past weekend offered me an opportunity, when Joe and I were finally taking a day to lounge around. It was cool weather, and football was on the brain as we waited eagerly for the Mizzou game to begin. Chili sounded perfect for this type of day, but I'd recently made a wonderful Chicken Chili. Not to mention we'd been eating a lot of meat for the last few days, so I was in the mood for a vegetarian dinner.

Somehow I came up with the idea of doing a white chili, using cannellini beans and corn. I didn't find any recipes online that fit what I was looking for, so I found a White Chicken Chili to use as a model. The end result was a flavorful, hearty alternative to traditional chili. It was also a great dinner to eat before a crazy night watching the Missouri Tigers beat Oklahoma!! Go Tigers!! Now I just need to figure out another creative chili to eat before we show Nebraska what's up this weekend ;)

Vegetarian White Chili

•1 large onion, chopped

•1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter

•1/4 cup all-purpose flour

•2 cups vegetable stock

•2 cups 1% milk

•1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

•1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

•1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

•1/2 teaspoon white pepper, or to taste

•two 4-ounce cans whole mild green chilies, drained and chopped

•2 cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

•2 cups of frozen corn kernels, thawed

•¼ cup cilantro leaves, rough chopped

•Garnish: chopped avocado, 1 1/2 cups grated white cheddar cheese

In a skillet cook onion in 1 tablespoon butter over moderate heat until softened.

In a 6- to 8-quart heavy kettle melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. Stir in onion and gradually add vegetable stock and half-and-half, whisking constantly. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in chili powder, cumin, salt, and white pepper. Add beans, chilies, corn, and cilantro, and cook mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, 20 minutes.

Garnish chili with grated cheese and chopped avocado.

Original Recipe: White Chicken Chili from epicurious.com