Aztec Chicken Soup

It's soup night and a perfect way to use some of the delicious veggies I bought at the Saturday Morning Market this week. Several years ago I discovered some great low carb cook books by Dana Carpender including, 500 Low Carb Recipes. It has some amazingly delicious ideas including this soup.  The beauty of this recipe is not only is is low carb, it's also low fat if you don't add the cheese. (Why anyone wouldn't want a little cheese, I don't know, but....) I've added chick peas to the original recipe which are tasty and up the fiber content. You will love the fresh taste of this yummy soup!

This recipe makes 10 servings, but it freezes well. You can also easily cut it in half.

Ingredients
3 quarts chicken broth
2 cups diced cooked chicken or boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2-3 ribs celery, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 small carrot, shredded
1 small zucchini, diced
2 cans(14 1/2 each) diced tomatoes, including juice
1 can chick peas, drained
1 package frozen chopped spinach
2 TB dried oregano
2 TB dried basil
2 tsp pepper
At least 8 oz Mexican Queso Quesadilla or Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
5 ripe avocados, diced

Directions
1. Heat the broth and the chicken in a large pot over low heat.

2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, garlic, celery, green pepper, carrot, and zucchini together until they're limp. Stir the oregano, basil and pepper into the vegetables and saute for another minute and add them to the soup along with the tomatoes, chick peas and spinach. Let the whole thing  simmer for 1/2 to 1 hour to let the flavors blend.

3.When you're ready  to serve the soup, put 1/4 - 1/2 cup of cheese (more won't hurt) in the bottom of the bowl, and anywhere from 1 - 3 chipotles, depending on how spicy you like your food. If you want it even less spicy, just add some of the adobo sauce, or leave it out completely. Ladle the hot soup over the cheese and the peppers. Top with avocado.

Serve with tortilla chips or cheese quesadillas.