Healthy Chicken & White Bean Soup

I have had 2 lousy winter colds, one in December and one in February. Soup to the rescue (and a trip to Miami didn't hurt!).

Who wants to soak beans and make stock when you are under the weather?
That is when pantry items come into play and make my life much easier.

I always have boxes of good chicken stock and cans of beans in the pantry for delicious, healthy meals like this one.

This is my basic chicken and white bean soup (and I love it with rosemary). You can omit the peppers which I sometimes do when I don't have any ;), and using leftover chicken is always a good idea.

This recipe is very adaptable to use whatever you have in the house and what you like.

Healthy Chicken & White Bean Soup:

1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 carrots, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tsp cumin
dash of hot pepper flakes
kosher salt
olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme
2 boneless chicken breasts or thighs (or leftover cooked chicken)
2 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
8 cups (2 boxes) of good chicken broth (I like Swanson's low sodium)
1 small can of diced tomatoes (optional)

Start with a big heavy stock pot (I love my Le Creuset Dutch oven). Add in olive oil to coat and heat on medium heat.

Saute the onions, celery, carrots and peppers with cumin and some kosher salt for about 8 minutes until starting to soften.

Add in the chicken stock, bay leaves and either thyme or rosemary with the 2 chicken breasts or thighs and simmer 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, the chicken should be totally cooked. Remove from the pot with tongs and shred the chicken with a fork.

Add in the 2 cans of beans and the cooked shredded chicken and simmer another 5 minutes.

Taste for seasoning, it should be salty enough.

Feel free to add in corn, scallions, turkey or any herb or spice you like! This soup is very adaptable and freezes well.

You can add in tortilla chips and cilantro to make this a Tortilla Soup.

It's healthy and delicious!