White Chili with Jalapeno Cornbread

Soup time again!! In the fall and winter I make a lot of soup. It's easy to make ahead of time and it is such a filling meal. This white chili recipe is so yummy and very healthy. Lots of vegis and beans! Yum!! When I was losing weight after I had my third and final child I ate this soup all the time...minus the buttery cornbread of course! I think what makes this soup great is the hominy. The first time I made this soup I had never used hominy in anything. When I opened the can the smell reminded me of mexican food. Hominy referrs to corn without the germ. It is served both whole or ground. Hominy is boiled until cooked and served as either a cereal or as a vegetable. The canned hominy is great and you can find it in the mexican section of the grocery store. One of the other things I use in this recipe is a chicken base called Better Than Bouillon. I actually use this in all my recipes that call for chicken stock. It is better than the canned stuff and you can make as much broth as you need. Look for it in the soup section.

They also have it at Costco. I use a lot of this stuff so the big Costco one is great for me. This recipe also calls for greek yogurt as a topping. This does taste awesome on the soup but sour cream works just as well. And if you've never tried mexi sour cream it is great with this soup too. It's a little more tart than regular sour cream. Here is the recipe for the soup:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/white-chili-recipe/index.html

I had to make cornbread to go along with my soup. I usually make the sweet cornbread on back of the Albers cornmeal box....which is a great recipe by the way, but this time I was craving Ina's Jalapeno cornbread. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/jalapeno-cheddar-cornbread-recipe/index.html

It is so good slathered with some whipped butter. And of course you must take it for a dip in your soup! Ina calls for a regular pan for the cornbread, but I always use my cast iron skillet when making cornbread....it just gives the bottom an extra crunch and it really does taste better! I hope you enjoy these recipes!