Fall and winter is soup season in our house. So, every visit to Costco I get a whole rotisserie chicken. I pull all the meat off, save some for chicken salad and use the rest in soup/stew. Tonight for dinner I made Spicy Chicken Soup. I also made cornbread in a cast iron skillet. It was sooooooo good! The soup had a sweet afternote, even though there wasn't any sugar in it. Daryl said it's probably from the fresh carrots - picked from the garden, washed, cut and into the pot.
I like my soup thick and/or chunky, so if you like a more brothy soup, you'll want to use less vegetables or more stock. This is a pretty quick soup, so making it during the week is possible.
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 carrots, cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 large onion, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 cup corn4 cups chicken stock
2 cans diced tomatoes
16 oz. salsa
14 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded or chunked cooked chicken
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
Place oil, carrots, onion and celery in large pot or cast iron dutch oven, season with salt/pepper and cook about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and cayenne, and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 30-45 minutes. Serve with shredded cheese and/or sour cream garnish and cornbread.
Whole Wheat Cornbread
I love making cornbread in a cast iron skillet. Since I hadn't found a good recipe, I was following the directions on the package, but it always came out dry and crumbly. Then I found this recipe (click the link above) in a Food Network magazine and it's delicious. One of the reviews mentioned adding baking powder, vanilla and cinammon. That sounds delish - I am going to try it next time.
~ Enjoy ~
Soup recipe adapted from Catherine's Spicy Chicken Soup on Allrecipes.com
