White Bean and Chicken Chili

Do you ever have one of those moments where you see somebody make food and you think to yourself, “I need that food in my mouth right now!!!” It happens to us all the time when we are watching Food Network and it often leads to late night snacks. Perhaps we just love food too much?

We still remember the first time we saw Giada make her White Bean and Chicken Chili with Cheddar Scallion Bread. We pretty much took a trip the store as fast as we could to get all the ingredients for the meal! The cheddar scallion bread has become our go-to cheesy bread recipe, but it’s been a couple months since we have made the white bean and chicken chili.

The Iowa Hawkeyes played a night game on Saturday, and it felt like the perfect time to make the whole meal again!

White Bean and Chicken Chili
Slightly adapted from Giada De Laurentiis (we substituted fresh baby spinach for swiss chard)
Serves:4-6
Total Time: 120 minutes

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds ground chicken
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons flour
2 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 pound fresh spinach
11/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, corn, and chicken stock.

Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Add the spinach, red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

This meal is so comforting! It’s one of those meals that makes you want to just throw on some sweatpants and curl up in front of the tv all night long – which is our idea of the perfect night!

What’s your idea of “the perfect night?”