I love cooking for my family, and when things aren’t super crazy I like to make a habit of cooking every night. Usually on the weekends, I’ll sit down and make a meal plan and go shopping on Sunday to last me the whole week. The only problem? By Thursday, some of those fruits & veggies aren’t looking so hot {or during an ideal week, we already ate them all}. So how do I whip up dinner when I don’t have many fresh ingredients? I go shopping again- in my pantry!
My family has come to expect what we affectionately call “Cantry Thursdays”, when I make some of our favorite meals using canned items. Whether I’m making bean burritos with canned beans or chicken salad with canned chicken, my can opener gets a good workout on Thursdays. There are so many reasons I love planning for Cantry Thursdays:
-It prevents me from having to go to the store mid-week, during all the craziness of school, work, and activity schedules.
-It saves us money because canned items are quite often more inexpensive than their fresh counterparts.
-It saves me time because most canned products are mostly prepped for me {chicken often comes diced, veggies often come peeled, etc.}.
-It helps me clean out my pantry- while I often plan ahead of time and buy new cans of food, I sometimes challenge myself to come up with a meal from what I already have in my pantry.
-I can make sure my family gets great produce- at any time of year, and even when I haven’t been to the store. Fresh fruits & veggies are harvested for canning at their peak ripeness and canned within hours, so canned produce is full of nutrients and is never out of season.
-I waste less. The average household throws away 15-20% of the fresh fruits & veggies they purchase. Since I plan for pantry meals, I don’t overbuy produce and what I do buy doesn’t go bad before we get to eat it!
There are so many meals that you can make using canned foods! Of course, there are premade canned foods, like soups and pasta meals, and we eat those sometimes, too. But since I love cooking, I prefer to make my own recipes using canned ingredients, like beans, meat, and vegetables.
One of my favorite “Cantry Thursday” meals is my Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili!
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
2 cans Northern Beans
1 can chicken stock
1 small can green chilies {optional but so yummy!}
1 can fully cooked chicken {or about 3 small chicken breasts, cooked}
1 medium sweet onion
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper {adjust to your preferences}
1 Tablespoon cumin powder
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon salt
Directions:
1. Turn your slow cooker on high
2. Dice your chicken into cubes, add to slow cooker
3. Rinse your Northern Beans under cool water, then add to slow cooker
4. Add your can of chicken stock
5. Chop your onion into small pieces then add to crockpot
6. Add your seasoning, chilies, and olive oil. Stir to combine.
7. Cook on high heat for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
8. Serve with sliced French bread or the side of your choice and enjoy!
Does your family do Cantry Thursdays?
- 2 cans Northern Beans
- 1 can chicken stock
- 1 small can green chilies {optional but so yummy!}
- 1 can fully cooked chicken {or about 3 small chicken breasts, cooked}
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper {adjust to your preferences}
- 1 Tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- Turn your slow cooker on high
- Dice your chicken into cubes, add to slow cooker
- Rinse your Northern Beans under cool water, then add to slow cooker
- Add your can of chicken stock
- Chop your onion into small pieces then add to crockpot
- Add your seasoning, chilies, and olive oil. Stir to combine.
- Cook on high heat for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with sliced French bread or the side of your choice and enjoy!
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