Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili for About $9

The first cool morning of September always catches me off guard. Last Tuesday I sent Owen to the bus stop in shorts, and by 8:15 he was back at the door asking for a sweatshirt, teeth chattering for effect. That same afternoon I pulled the slow cooker down from the top shelf, and it has not gone back up since.

This white chicken chili is the one I make most often once the weather turns. It is creamy without being heavy, mild enough that Rosie eats it without a fight, and it costs me about nine dollars for a pot that feeds the five of us dinner plus two lunches for Mike. I worked out the numbers from my last Aldi receipt, so these are real prices from our corner of Ohio this month.

What goes in it (and what it costs)

• 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs – about $5.00 (I buy the family pack and freeze portions)
• 2 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed – $1.70
• 1 small can diced green chiles – $0.95
• 1 cup frozen corn – $0.45
• 1 medium onion, diced – $0.50
• 3 cloves garlic, minced – $0.20
• 2 cups chicken broth (from bouillon) – $0.25
• 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp chili powder, salt and pepper – about $0.25
• 4 oz cream cheese (half a block) – $0.60
• 1/2 cup milk or half-and-half – $0.20

Total: roughly $9.10, before toppings. We usually add a handful of shredded cheese and some crushed tortilla chips from the bottom of the bag, which I don't count because they would otherwise get thrown out.

How to make it

1. Put the onion, garlic, green chiles, and spices in the bottom of the slow cooker and give them a stir.
2. Lay the chicken on top in a single layer. It does not need to be browned first. I skip that step every single time.
3. Add the beans and corn, then pour the broth over everything.
4. Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 4, until the chicken shreds easily.
5. Pull the chicken out, shred it with two forks on a cutting board, and return it to the pot.
6. Cube the cream cheese, drop it in with the milk, and stir. Put the lid back on for 15 minutes, then stir again until it's smooth.
7. Taste and add salt. Beans and bouillon vary a lot, so this matters more than you'd think.

Notes from making it about forty times

• Thighs vs. breasts: Thighs stay juicier and are often cheaper per pound. When breasts are on sale, I use those and nobody complains.
• Thicker chili: Scoop out a cup of beans, mash them with a fork, and stir them back in. It thickens the whole pot without flour.
• Heat level: As written, it's barely spicy. Mike adds hot sauce to his bowl, which keeps everyone happy.
• Dried beans: If you cook dried beans ahead of time, you can knock another dollar off. I do this in winter when I have more patience than I do in September.
• Freezing: It freezes fine, though the texture of the cream cheese gets a little grainy. A quick stir while reheating fixes most of it.

Why this one earns a spot every week

Fall at our house is a blur of soccer practice, homework at the kitchen table, and me trying to remember whose turn it is to feed the cat. Dinner has to be something I can start at 10 a.m. while Rosie is watching her one show and then mostly forget about. This does that. I throw it together in about ten minutes, and the house smells like dinner is handled by mid-afternoon, which does a lot for my mood.

It also stretches. With five of us, a pot this size gives us dinner and then two containers for Mike's lunchbox. He's a maintenance mechanic at a food-packaging plant, and the break room vending machine is his only other option, so a hot lunch in a thermos beats a bag of chips and a candy bar, both for his stomach and for our grocery budget. Our food budget runs around $1,250 a month, and meals like this are how we stay in that range without living on rice and beans.

The one time it didn't work: I tried a version with a jar of salsa verde instead of the green chiles and cumin. The kids said it tasted "sour," and Ella, who is eleven and has opinions, called it "chili that went bad." Back to the original.

Serving it without extra cost

We eat it with whatever is already around. Leftover rice underneath makes it go further. A pan of boxed cornbread mix is about 60 cents and turns it into a full meal for hungry kids. On nights when I have nothing else, a bag of tortilla chips on the table counts as a side dish, and I've made my peace with that.

Next up, I'm going to try it with the turkey from our freezer that I've been ignoring since last November. If it works, you'll hear about it. If the kids stage a protest, you'll probably hear about that too.