Chili Lime Veggie & Chicken Soup

I absolutely LOVE soups!!! I would/could eat soup every day of the week! After researching a few soups yesterday, I decided to jump in the kitchen this morning and run with some of the things I had learned. I was in the mood for a chicken~y and tangy little soup that I could use up some veggies and garbanzo beans in... (how did I end up with 7 cans of garbanzo beans in my pantry?)... so here's what I ended up with... 

Chili Lime Veggie & Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

3 or 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 diced chicken thighs (1/2 in. cubes)
1 cup thinly sliced white onion (half, then slice from stem to root)
1/2 diced sweet bell pepper
1/4 head of thinly sliced cabbage
1 cup diced zucchini (1/2 in. cubes)
1 cup diced yellow squash (1/2 in. cubes)
2 large minced garlic cloves
2 15-ounce cans garbanzos, drained and rinsed
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, not drained
6 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of one lime juice
Zest of one lime

Saute the chicken, remove from pan and set aside. Add more olive oil if you need, and saute onions and sweet pepper for a couple minutes, then add cabbage, zucchini and squash. Saute them until they start to soften and then add garlic. After 2 or 3 minutes add the garbanzos, tomatoes, broth, chicken and spices and simmer for about 20 minutes. Prior to serving add the cilantro, lime and lime zest.

Now remember, I just "cook"... I don't pay attention to exact times and such, so these are approximate. Also, you can definitely turn up the heat a little by adding more garlic, chili powder and pepper... since one of my goals was that my kids would eat this (and they did without too much prodding), I used the amounts listed. But it would have been out of this world with a 14 oz can of plain tomatoes and a 14 oz can of Ro-tel! And maybe some white shoepeg corn... (darn - I meant to add corn!)

If you make it, enjoy! And let me know what you think!

Lots of love,