Crockpot White Chicken Chili

I love my crock pot. I cook in one at least once a week. In the summer, it is particularly nice because you don't heat up the kitchen even more with the oven.

This is one of my favorite crock pot recipes. I'm horrible about taking photos while I cook, so they are a bit sparse, but here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup dry garbanzo beans
1 cup dry navy beans
1 cup dry great northern beans
4 cups cooked chicken breast - chopped
4 cups chicken broth (2 cans)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic (about six cloves)
2 cans diced green chilies (4 oz)
2 tsp cumin
3 tsp fresh oregano (1 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 cups grated monterey jack cheese
sour cream

Rinse dry beans and pick out anything that doesn't belong. Put beans in crock pot (4 quart size is sufficient) and add enough water to cover, plus at least 2 inches. Soak for 8 hours or overnight. If you don't want to take 2 days to make your chili, you can use canned beans but I prefer starting with dry.

Drain soaked beans and add back enough water to cover plus 2 inches (again). Cook beans on low for about 6 hours or until mostly cooked through (edible but still firm).

In a 6 quart crock pot, combine beans, chicken, and broth.

In a large skillet, saute onion, garlic, chilies, and spices in olive oil until onion is nearly translucent. Add to crock pot.

Cook on low for 6 hours. One to two hours before serving, stir in Monterey Jack cheese. This can be cooked longer if needed, but at 8 hours the navy and northern beans tend to be no longer beans (mush).

Garnish with more cheese and sour cream and serve.

Additional notes:

If using canned beans rather than dry, use 1 can of each type and be sure to drain and rinse the beans.

You can freeze the beans once they are cooked and use them as you would canned. This reduces the prep time, but still allows you to use dried beans. I freeze mine in Ziploc bags in 1 pound servings.

I've been know to use Pepper Jack cheese instead of regular Jack for even more kick.