Soup!

Making good soup runs in my family. My grandma made great split pea soup and bean soup. My mom makes the best chicken noodle and white bean chili. My friend Liz from medical school has said my soups are to die for. I really started honing my soup making skills during my frist two years of medical school I would be cooped up in my apartment all day studying and memorizing and warm soup was the perfect study break. Soon my friends and I started studying at each other's apartments making lunch for everyone who came.

Today I am making my version of a Mexican Chicken Soup. It is an adaptation of a recipe from the Healthy Kitchen Cook Book. Get out your chopping knives and get cooking!

Mexican Chicken Soup
1 tbs olive oil
1 white onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 cup carrots chopped
1 - 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno peper seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups wild rice not the instant kind
5 cups chicken stock
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped
2 medium potatoes chopped into 1 inch cubes
4-5 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup corn off the cob
1 avocado
1 bunch cilantro
salt to taste
sour cream to garnish

Chop all the veggies. Place the onion, celery, carrots, jalapeno and thyme into the stock pot with the olive oil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add the rice, corn, bay leaf, potatoes and chicken.  Cook for about 40 minutes at minimum. This can be cooked in a slow cooker as well. I usually let mine cook for an hour or more on a low simmer.  The chicken and potatoes should be falling apart Add the fresh cilantro, avocado and sour cream as a garnish to each bowl as you serve. Enjoy!