Soup with a southwestern flair!

I lived in the southwest for over half of my life.  Living there definitely shaped my palate for food .  I love the flavors of the southwest, flavors like chipotle peppers and cilantro.  When I find a recipe that combines those with my comfort food AND the flavors of fall, I feel like I've won the jackpot!!!  I found a recipe for "Smoky Sweet-Potato Chicken Stoup" ("stoup is her combo word for "stew" & "soup") in a Rachel Ray cookbook titled "Express Lane Meals".  It looked like a winner to me.  It tasted like one too!!  I've adapted it a bit to fit our eating style.  You'll find that many of my recipes are heavy on the vegetables and light on the meat.  Regardless, this soup packs a powerful flavor punch that leaves your mouth begging for more.   Big taste and big comfort, now that's a win-win in my book!!!

Make a big ol' pot of this soup and you'll feel like the winner, I guarentee!!

Smoky Sweet- Potato Chicken Soup
(Adapted from Rachel Ray's, "Express Lane Meals Cookbook)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 Medium Carrots
3 Celery Ribs
1 Large Sweet Onion
1 Large Sweet Potato (yellow /brown in color)
1 Large Yam (orange in color) - although my husband says they are all sweet potatoes, not true yams
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 chipotle chili in adobo, finely chopped
Salt & Pepper (1 tsp each - approximately)
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 ¼ cup white wine
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 ½ chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped)
Sour Cream to garnish

Method:
Heat Olive Oil in large soup pot.
Cut carrots into thin half moons and add to the pot, coating with olive oil.
Chop celery and onion and add them to the pot and stir.
Peel and cut sweet potatoes. Thinly slice them into bite size pieces.      
Add the sweet potatoes, garlic and chipotle and stir.
Add salt, pepper, thyme and the bay leaf.
Cook mixture for 5 minutes (this browns the carrots and onions a bit and gives them such a deep, rich flavor!)
Add the wine to the vegetables and reduce for 1 minute.
Add the stock to the pot, cover and raise heat to high.
When soup boils, remove cover and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
Add the cut-up chicken and simmer for 5-10 minutes - until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through.
Turn the heat off, discard the bay leaf and stir in green onions and cilantro.
Serve with garnish of sour cream!


For printable version click here