Southwest Chicken Chili

This is a yummy recipe I've done before, but last time I sectioned it out into freezer bags and popped the extra in the freezer. When I was ready to thaw some, I just popped the frozen chili in the crock pot, put it on Low and walked away....it worked beautifully! Since we are so low on freezer space right now, I decided to try canning it this time around. Here is the recipe:

3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 oz. can diced green chiles
2 cans white kidney beans
1/2 tsp cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic-crushed
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Chop onion and garlic. Heat oil and saute garlic and onions. Add cubed chicken and brown.

Whether you'll be freezing some extra or canning it, I just sauteed my onions and garlic in a big stock pot. Once you have added your chicken, add the remaining ingredients to the pot and stir well. I let it simmer nicely for about 30 minutes while I was getting the canner and jars ready. If you'll be freezing it, skip the simmering since you probably don't want to put hot chili in a freezer bag. Add the cheese to the bag on top of the chili and seal it up once all the air is out. If you'll be canning it, once your canner is ready, fill heated jars with chili leaving 1 inch headspace. Place your lid and ring on and place in the canner. I pressure cooked these quarts for 90 minutes at 12-13 pounds pressure (since we are at higher altitude). For my canned chili, I will just add the cheese to it as I'm preparing to serve it.

A couple of other changes I made....I used chicken I had canned in January, so rather than cubed chicken mine is more shredded. It works great though! I was also able to use the liquid from my canned chicken for the broth rather than purchased chicken broth. I am a HUGE fan of cilantro, so I actually chop an entire bunch of cilantro for each recipe. Totally to each person's taste though! I quadrupled the above recipe, and my yield was 7 quarts of chili, with just enough left over for me to eat for dinner tomorrow. Yum, yum.....this will be perfect when the winter chill sets in!