Southwestern Chicken Soup

It has been a heat wave in Vermont over the past 2 days, a whopping 50 degrees! Even though the weather is warming I am still making up batches of soup. I love that I can cook on Sunday and have lunches for the week with little prep, perfect for those busy days. When I get sick of eating it I just freeze the rest into individual portions. This southwestern chicken soup packed with vegetables, beans, and plenty of flavor. Because it is packed with chicken and beans it can be a meal on its own. I made the stock from scratch, but low sodium chicken broth would work as well. Short on time? Use leftover chicken or a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.

I have listed some optional toppings at the end of the ingredients list that I think would be great

accompainments. Certainly you don’t need to pick all of them, but they can make the soup a little extra special. I like it with a pinch of cheese, avocado, and tsp of sour cream!

Southwestern Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

2 fresh jalepenos, seeded and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

8 cups homemade chicken stock or low sodium chicken broth

1 pound cooked chicken breast and/or dark meat, diced or shredded

1 can low sodium diced tomatoes

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

14 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

Toppings: (optional)

Low fat shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican blend)

Diced red onion

Sour cream

Diced avocado

Cilantro

Tortilla Strips

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add onion, celery, carrots, jalapeños and red pepper and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low-medium heat for 45 minutes. Serve hot.

Nutrition Facts:

1 1/3 cups: 175 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated), 19 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 20 g protein, 341 mg sodium