Paula Deen's Chicken Chili ( well, sort of )

Photo from Paula Deen's Newsletter

Each week I receive an e-mail called "Paula Deen's Recipe of the Week".  I admit it, a lot of the time when I get auto e-mails, I don't even bother opening them, I just hit delete but I decided I wanted to try some new recipes out this year so opened up the e-mail to see what Paula was cookin' up this week.  It was Chicken Chili.  It looked pretty good and the ingredients sounded like something I would like.

I revised it quite a bit (well a lot actually) for a couple of reasons, one was size - the original served 10-12 people and I don't need that many left overs (especially if for some reason I didn't like it).  In addition, I revised it some to save on cost and time.  Instead of buying peppers and tomatoes, I just bought rotel tomatoes.  Instead of getting dry beans, soaking them overnight, etc, I just got canned beans.  Oh and I also turned it into a slow cooker recipe because it worked better for me.  So... here is my highly revised version Paula Deen Chicken Chili.

Chicken Chili
Makes 5 to 6 Servings

1 (14 oz) can great Northern beans, drained
2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 (14.5-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes, undrained

1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 Teaspoon ground cumin (I really like cumin, you might want to knock it down to 1 tsp)

Garnish: sour cream, shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped fresh cilantro 

Cook chicken on low in crockpot 4 - 6 hours, until done and no longer pink.  Remove from crockpot and shred.  Wash out crockpot - return chicken to crockpot, add remaining beans, broth, tomatoes and spices and cook on low-medium for 2 - 4 hours.  When ready to serve, top with shredded cheddar cheese (I like Habenero Cheddar cheese that I found at Kroger), sour cream and chopped cilantro (if desired).  

The outcome?  I really liked it - I never had Northern Beans before so wasn't sure if I would like them but I did.  I will make this again but may add more tomatoes next time.