Crockpot Jalapeno Popper Chili

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped yellow or white onion
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/2 cup red or yellow bell pepper, small diced (I just had a green one - not as much great color, but still tasted yummy)
1 pound chicken breasts, trimmed of fat (about 2 chicken breasts)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
12 ounces dry white beans, rinsed and picked through to remove any stones or bad beans
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces light cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
6-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled or chopped (Next time I think I'll just skip the bacon - it was flavorful enough on its own)

Directions:
Add all the ingredients except the cream cheese, corn and bacon to a 5-quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Remove the chicken and chop into pieces or shred into bite-sized pieces.  You could blend part of the soup at this point to make it thicker/creamier, but I opted not to and it was fantastic anyway.  Return the chicken to the slow cooker.

Stir in the cubed cream cheese and the corn. Cover the slow cooker to let the cream cheese soften and the corn heat through, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with the crumbled bacon (like I said, I think I'll just skip the bacon next time - I ate the leftovers without it and it was not missed) and tortilla chips.

Notes:
Easy peasy and super yummy!  This soup has a little bit of a kick, but I didn't think it was overly spicy, even with 2 jalapenos.  Callie loved the beans I cut in half and plopped on her tray and it wasn't too hot for her.  But if you go for really tame stuff, you could drop it down to just one, I bet.  I'm a big fan of this one.