This post brought to you by Cooper Cheese. All opinions are 100% mine.
Last month I made some great appetizers for our holiday dinner with Cooper deli cheese, a baked bean casserole and Bite Sized Loaded Double Baked Potatoes. They were a hit, and I loved them so much that I’m now a lifelong fan of Cooper Cheese for my regular weekly recipes for family meals as well.
If you are not familiar with Cooper Cheese, it has a long and illustrious history, starting in 1893 when a prominent banker by the name of I.C. Cooper from Teresa, New York, began selling aged cheese under the Cooper label. In 1945, the Cooper Victory label (C.V. Sharp) was developed in honor of World War II veterans. Showing pride in returning veterans with a reference to “victory” was a common packaging practice of the time that Cooper Cheese continues to honor with great pride today.
I recently made my family a hearty chicken chili with Cooper White American Cheese, perfect for these cold, cold, cold New York winter days and nights. A delicious chili is a traditional comfort food for cold weather, and just so happened to be introduced widely to the American public the same exact year Cooper Cheese was (via the San Antonio Chili Stand at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893). My recipe is a twist on chili in that I use chicken breast instead of ground beef, and skip the tomato sauce, for a healthier (and utterly delicious) meal… here is my recipe:
Hearty Chicken Chili
Ingredients
1 lb chicken breast, skinless and cubed
2 cups Great Northern beans
2 peppers, chopped (I like to use assorted colors)
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp chili powder
Cooper White American Cheese or Cooper Pepperjack Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Place the chicken and the remaining ingredients (except for the Cooper cheese) in a slow cooker and cook on high for four hours.
2. Remove from heat and spoon out chicken chili into individual serving bowls, and top with Cooper Cheese of choice (I love the Cooper White American Cheese for this recipe).
3. Pop into oven preheated at 350 degrees for ten minutes, serve and enjoy!
I serve the chili with nacho chips to scoop it up, a sort of chicken chili con queso, and my husband loves this dish over rice, so I always make him rice, topped with the chicken chili, and covered in Cooper Cheese. Because it’s so versatile, I sometimes crumble nachos into it to make a taco soup, and toss shredded Cooper Cheese on top (this is my favorite- I love a hot chicken chili soup during the winter).
Cooper deli cheese is available in 3 varieties: White American, Yellow American and Cracked Black Pepper. It is now available at A&P, Pathmark, Waldbaums, SuperFresh, Food Basics and Shoprite stores in the NY/NJ metro area and will be on sale at A&P banners the week ending 2/1/14.
You can find Cooper Cheese on Facebook and on Twitter for updates and lots of great recipes.
My family is not big into chili, but this one they would probably gobble down. The white cheese and chicken would make it far more palatable to them than the spicier beef kinds that are often made.
I don’t think I’ve heard of them but I love the idea of honoring the veterans and your dish looks yummy.
The chili with nachos look especially yummy! This is a great recipe for the colder days!
This sounds really good. I’ve never made chicken chili before.
That looks delicious. I would eat it with the tortilla chips. Yum!
This looks like a great recipe and looks like it is full of flavor!! Thanks for sharing it!
This looks yummy. Of course, I’m a cheese fiend!
It’s hard to find real American cheese that isn’t “pasteurized process cheese food.” This looks divine!
I LOVE a white cheese and pepper jack is my favorite for sure! I can’t believe I’ve never heard of that brand before though.
Oh my goodness that looks so good, Penelope. And I’d love to try the cracked black pepper cheese. Yum!
Chicken chili sounds good. I’ve only had beef chili!
Chicken chili is the best! We all serve with crushed tortilla chips, yummy stuff.
I love chicken chili! Yours looks delicious.
Fantastic comfort food! I love that you used chicken in it too.
That chilli looks really good and I love the fact that it has chicken in it, yum!
I love chicken chili so I will have to try my hand making this.
Oooh that gooey cheese looks fantastic. I love chicken chili as a healthy alternative to beef versions!
This sounds so good. I’ll have to make it for the family soon. Thanks.
We LOVE chili… it’s a go-to meal for us.
That sounds delicious! My husband & I would both love that, especially with the peppers & onions. Yum!
I haven’t made chicken chili in forever. I love all that cheesy goodness on top.
That dish really looks delicious. Now I’m totally starving.
I just made regular chili the other night. I am gonna have to save this recipe and try yours, I have had only chicken chili one time!
I love this! We always do beef but this looks like a fun alternative!
I’m making chicken chilli right now and I’m using most of the ingredients above, can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I adore… ADORE … chicken chili. This sounds SO good.
A white chicken chili would be a great addition to my meal planning recipe list. I know it’d go over well with my entire family, especially since it’s cheesy!