Chicken Fiesta Soup

Chicken Fiesta Soup is one of our winter go-to meals.  Bright colors and flavors- plus the bonus of quick prep- brighten up those dreary January evenings.

Chicken Fiesta Soup adapted from a Cooking Light recipe
2 tsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup diced red, orange, or yellow bell pepper (or a mix)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. chili powder  
1 small can (4 oz) diced green chiles
2 cans (14 oz) chicken broth
1 can (14 oz) whole- kernel corn (or 1/2 bag frozen whole-kernel corn)   
1 can (14 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) diced peeled tomatoes (try fire-roasted for fun) 
 1 can (10 oz) tomato sauce 
2 cups cooked, shredded or diced, chicken (try using a rotisserie chicken- it is super easy!)

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mexican blend or cheddar cheese
tortilla chips

1. Heat olive  oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Saute onions and garlic until crisp-tender. Add bell peppers and saute until crisp-tender. Add cumin, Worcestershire, chili powder, and green chiles. Stir and saute about 30 seconds. 
2. Add next six ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes. 
3. Ladle soup into bowls, top each evenly with sour cream and cheese.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Serves 4-6

If you like this, check out the posole chicken soup recipe.

Posole Chicken Soup

I've had the craving for mexican food lately and found this recipe in  HyVee's Seasons magazine.
What they said about it: An ancient recipe from Mesoamerica, posole is also called hominy soup for the one ingredient that is consistently included to this day.
What I say about it: a tasty upscale variation of taco soup.
try it for a an easy weeknight supper.

Posole Chicken Soup adapted from HyVee Seasons magazine www.hyvee.com

Ingredients:
2 (32 oz) cartons chicken broth
2 (15.5 oz) cans white hominy
2 (14.5 oz) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp. adobo sauce, from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can
2 cups plus 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed, de-boned, and chopped (2-3 cups chicken)
3 TBS olive oil
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
2 avocados, seeded and chopped
2 cups Mexican shredded cheese
2 cups tortilla chips
1 cup sour cream



Directions:
1. In a large stockpot, combine broth, hominy, tomatoes, adobo sauce, 2 cups cilantro and oregano. Stir in chicken. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until heated through.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil Saute carrots, onion, and poblano pepper about 5 minutes or until tender. Add to stockpot. Allow to heat through and serve hot.

3. Serve or top with avocado, cheese, chips, sour cream and cilantro.
Makes 16 cups.