Chili-Spiced Chicken Soup with Stoplight Peppers and Avocado Relish

Edwin and I recently tried out a fabulous recipe from Cooking Light. This is a take on Tortilla Soup, and we highly recommend it!

(For another tortilla soup recipe, check out this post from Mary Crocker Barnes: http://marycrockerbarnes.blogspot.com/2010/04/tortilla-soup.html)

Our soup has a great kick to it, and the flavors will leave you wanting more!! (I ate it everyday for lunch this week.) I swear, it is restaurant quality. Here's the recipe:

Spice blend:

2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander (I skipped this, it was like 5$)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used regular)

Soup:

1 tablespoon canola oil, divided (You need 2 tsp. first, then 1 more tsp later)

1 1/4 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips

2 cups chopped sweet onion

1 c. chopped red bell pepper

1 c. chopped green bell pepper

1 c. chopped yellow bell pepper

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups fresh corn kernels (I used frozen)

1 (32 oz) carton fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

1 (28 oz) can fire-roasted crushed (I got diced) tomatoes, undrained

2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

Relish: (I just put avocado slices and shredded monterrey jack on top, but this is from CL)

1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 c. chopped green onions

1 tsp grated lime rind

3 oz. queso fresco, crumbled

1 diced peeled avocado

How to:

1. To prepare spice blend, combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.

2. To prepare soup, heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick saucepan over med-high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle 1 1/2 Tbs spice blend over chicken. Saute 8 min. or until done; cool. Chop chicken; set aside.

3. Heat remaining 1 tsp oil in pan over med-high heat; add onion, bell peppers, garlic, and 1/2 tsp salt. Sprinkle veggie mixture with remaining spice blend; saute 8 min or until veggies are tender. Stir in chicken, corn, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 min. Add lime juice.

4. To prepare relish, combine chopped cilantro and next 4 ingredients (through avocado).

5. Ladle 1 1/4 c. soup into bowls; top with 1/4 c. relish.

Yield: 8 servings

Calories: 285

Fat: 9.6g (sat fat 2.1g)

Protein: 27g

Carb: 23

Info and recipe from Cooking Light. Let us know if you try it!! Bon Apetit y buen provecho!!