Mexican-Inspired Chicken Soup
- 2 Tbs oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 yellow zucchini, quartered lengthwise then sliced
- 1/2 cup frozen green beans
- 1/2 cup diced red peppers
- 1 15.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1 15.5 oz can pinto beans
- 1/4 cup raw rice
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic a few minutes, until softened. Add the other vegetables and saute another few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 25 minutes until the rice is done.
Taste and add more cumin, salt, pepper or whatever as so much depends on what your broth tastes like to begin with. Store bought broth tends to be very salty for my taste--and I love salt! But my homemade broth is a bit different every time.
Use this recipe as a starting point and an inspiration. Use peas instead of green beans, green zucchini instead of yellow, a bit of leftover yellow or orange or green pepper instead of red, throw in some sliced olives, add a turnip or rutabaga, use different beans or no beans, add a chopped potato or another can of a different kind of bean instead of the rice. Don't like Mexican food? Use other spices instead of the cumin--or use nothing. Soup is the easiest thing to start making without a set recipe.
