For the most part, I ate all my Thanksgiving dinner leftovers just as they were because I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner. There’s no need to mix it all up in a casserole to make it different. However, I made a VERY large turkey (it was free, so I’m not complaining) and I just couldn’t eat one more turkey sandwich. So over the weekend, it was cold and dreary and the day just screamed Chili! Youngest child wanted me to make White Chicken Chili and that triggered my lightbulb moment. My dilemma over what to do with all that turkey was solved. I’d chop up the rest of that turkey and throw it in, thus my creation of White Turkey Chili. It was really quite good.

My original recipe for White Chicken Chili was born from my very first attempt to search for a recipe online. This was SEVERAL years ago. My boss at the time and I had gone to lunch at a place called Kelly’s and he got the White Chicken Chili. He made such a big deal about how good it was that I tasted it too. OMG! I was in love!! It was SO good. I’d never even heard of White Chicken Chili at the time, so when we got back to the office, he went about searching for recipes online. (Since he was the boss, he was allowed such perks as scouring the Internet for non-work related stuff) He found several recipes, printed them all out and that night put together a combination of three of them. He brought this giant crockpot of his creation in and Lord have mercy!!!!! It was SO good!! It was SO good that it was gone by 10:00am. Yeah, we were all eating chili for breakfast. Good times.

Needless to say, I stole the recipe from him (his version anyway) and have been making it ever since. It’s a VERY flexible recipe, so none of this is written in stone. Use as much or as little of any of the ingredients as you want or even eliminate an ingredient (like if you don’t like mushrooms, don’t use ‘em) But this is a good starting point. This recipe feeds 8 – 10 people, so feel free to cut it in half or thirds or quarters. . . whatever floats your boat.

WHITE CHICKEN/TURKEY CHILI

3 lbs boneless chicken breast (or leftover turkey)
1 large onion, diced
4 cans White Northern Beans
1 can Refried Beans
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Sliced Mushrooms, drained
2 cans Diced Green Chiles
3 Tbl Chili Powder
2 Tbl Cumin
1 Tbl Garlic Powder
1 – 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
Chicken Stock, to desired thickness

Cut up your chicken into bite-size pieces and brown in a little bit of olive oil, or chop up your leftover turkey. Pour all the ingredients into a 6-Quart Slow Cooker. It’s all pretty thick at this point, so I add some Progresso Chicken Stock to get it to a chili consistency. But don’t use too much because the slow cooker will thin it out some by itself. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 – 8 hours.

Here you have it! I always put out Shredded Cheddar Cheese and/or Tortilla chips as garnishes. Sometimes sliced black olives, sour cream, or whatever the guests prefer. [I love to feed people and I don't want them to leave my house hungry]

And very very soon (maybe tomorrow), there will be a giveaway here on YJB. Come back to see me. **busy busy bee behind the scenes**