It’s snowing here in Colorado today and there’s nothing that sounds better than a big bowl of spicy chili to warm me through after hours of sledding down my favorite sledding hill.  No, I haven’t been sledding today but it is my favorite winter activity and on the rare occasion that I do venture out in weather like this, it’s what I’d choose to do.  My favorite sledding hill is known only to the locals of the small midwestern town I grew up in and has provided countless sledding runs for generations.  Wegner Field, Clinton High School’s football field, was named after former District Superintendent of Schools and a distant cousin on my maternal side, Richard Wegner.  In addition to hosting over 25 years of Friday night high school football games under the lights, Wegner Field hosts all ages for sledding during the cold and snowy winter months.  We had one trusty sled in our household and I’ve never been able to find another one quite like it.  I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase, “They don’t make ’em like they used to.”  That yellow sled was around for years.  My mom would take me on long walks in the winter and pull me around town on it while I layed on my stomach, holding on to the handles that stuck out at the top.  Maybe it was the loyality I had to it for being my way around when we had a big snow, but to me it always seemed to be the fastest ride down the hill, either sitting up or on my belly.  Getting ready to go sledding required at least 2 layers of socks, a layer of plastic to keep the socks dry, which more often than not was a bread sack, then the boots.  Admit it, you wrapped your feet in bread sacks before you put your boots on too!  It was over a mile walk from my house to the high school so by the time I got there, I was already cold from the walk but after an afternoon of sledding, it was well worth it.  Heading home cold and tired brought as much anticipation for me as getting ready to head out because warming up by the wood burning stove in our family room was just as satisfying.  The warmth of this chili makes me think of the many hours I spent in my family room warming up next to our wood burning stove.  On some of the really cold nights, I’d even pull out my sleeping bag and camp out there.  Even remembering the chore of handing in wood through the window to fill the woodbox is heartwarming though I hated it then and would do anything to avoid it. 
I love hot and spicy food and have always loved chili.  It’s one of the quickest and easiest meals to prepare and doesn’t require a side dish other than a bag of tortilla chips and a few toppings.  This recipe was given to me by an old friend, Nikki Hammel, who was a dear friend to me for many of the first few years that I lived in Colorado.  We’re not in touch any longer since she moved to Tennessee but I do miss her sometimes.  I was always impressed that she actually made her own chicken stock for this recipe.  I just use the store bought kind.  The one special trick in this recipe is to add the spices to the sautéed onions and peppers before you add the other ingredients.  The spices will stick to the vegetables instead of just floating around in the broth, giving the chili really great depth and flavor.  The spice comes from a full Tablespoon each of the 3 Cs:  Cumin, Chili Powder, and Cayenne Pepper.  If you don’t like all the heat, you can modify the amount of Cayenne Pepper although I don’t recommend it. 
Try this recipe on the next snowy day where you are and tell me, where’s your favorite sledding hill?

Spicy White Bean Chicken Chili: Photograph by Andrea Karapas

Spicy White Bean Chicken Chili
2 large bone-in chicken breasts (cooked, skin removed and shredded)
4 cans Great Northern Beans
2 cans Rotel* tomatoes (traditional flavor)
2 cans chicken broth
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 med green pepper (chopped)
1 med yellow onion (chopped)
1 Tbs. cumin
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. cayenne pepper
1 cup water
Toppings:  tortilla chips, chopped red onion, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot, add chopped onion and green pepper.  Sautée until vegetables are softened.  Add spices.  Drain all 4 cans of beans then add to pot.  Add tomatoes, chicken broth and water then simmer.  Once the chicken is shredded, add it to the pot.  Cover and simmer until ready to eat.  Add desired toppings.