Crock Pot Lovers of the World - UNITE!

I always had a hidden love for my Crock Pot.  The desire to use it often was always right below the surface, and yet I never did for 2 reasons.  1) I was always only cooking for myself, and a Crock Pot doesn't make a single serving meal and b) My old Crock Pot wasn't digit - it had a dial so I could choose between Warm, Low or High and when I turned it on, I couldn't gauge or manage how long it cooked.  This proved to be a problem when my schedule was so inconsistent and I would get home later than I thought causing my pot roast to be dry, the potatoes to be mushy and for everything to smell WAY better than it tasted.

When Stephen and I registered I did not think it was frivolous to register for a new Crock Pot, this time for one that was digital so that I could control the cooking...and I'm SO HAPPY I DID!

There she is, in all her glory!  Let me tell you, she has been may saving cooking grace these past couple of weeks as I have started grad school!  My class schedule is, unfortunately, all night classes.  I go to class 3 days a week from 5-8...ugh!  What was a girl to do regarding dinner (one of my professors won't let us bring food into the class)?!  Because I use public transportation I must leave the apartment at 3:45pm to go wait for the bus in order to make it to class in sound time.  NO ONE wants to eat dinner at 3:30, and besides that what about Stephen?!  So I've been grocery shopping with this guy by my side:

This book has enabled Stephen and I to still eat a healthy, homemade and cheaper meal those three nights out of the week.  I've made a handful of recipes out of here, but last night's was Stephen's (and mine) favorite recipe...White Chicken Chili...YUM (sorry Shave!)!!!  Because I recognize that not everyone has this cookbook, I am going to provide this recipe for you and I encourage, I INSIST that you make this for your loved ones this wintry season - it is so tasty!  If you make it and find that you have a recipe for it and it's better than this one, I'd love to have it - I LOVE WHITE CHICKEN CHILI!!!

Here's what you need:

*3 15-oz cans Great Northern beans, drained *8 oz cooked and shredded chicken breasts (see my note regarding this below) *1 cup chopped onions *1 1/2 cups chopped yellow, red, or green bell peppers *2 jalapeno chili peppers stemmed, seeded and chopped (I did not use these, but I am considering using a can of chopped green chilies next time) *2 garlic cloves minced (2 tsp of minced garlic) *2 tsp ground cumin *1/2 tsp salt *1/2 tsp dried oregano *3 1/2 cups chicken broth (I would add more - when I made it, it wasn't soupy enough for us) *I added a chicken bouillon cube - you be the judge for yourself *sour cream *shredded cheddar cheese *tortilla chips

Here's what you do:

1. Combine all ingredients except sour cream, cheddar cheese and chips in the slow cooker.

2. Cover.  Cook on Low 8-10 hours, or High 4-5 hours (I cooked mine on high for 4.5 hours)

3. Ladle into bowls and top individual servings with sour ream, cheddar cheese, and chips

***Note regarding cooking and shredding your chicken:

I had always thought that shredding chicken was so intimidating - NOPE!  Here's what I did:  I used 2 large chicken breasts for this and had plenty.  I took the raw chicken and cut it into fat strips (cooks quicker) and cooked it on my stove top using a little bit of EVOO; salting and peppering it while cooking.  I cooked it, flipped it and made sure that it was cooked through.  Once it was finished, I took the individual strips and put them on my cutting board and went to town on it using 2 forks.  Because it was just finished and still warm, it was tender and I was able to get great shreds out of it.  I was so impressed with myself ;)

Make it, taste it, love it and tell me about it!  (I'm not tootin' my own horn, this isn't my recipe - it's Esther Martin from Ephrata, Pa - Esther, you've done it again!)

p.s. I feel like I will be frequenting this blog...it's called Crock Pot 365...Yes sir!