The Heat is On!

When our friends Jeremy and Katy dropped off their dog Max at our house on Thursday morning, they were going pretty much nonstop until they picked him up again at our house last night. Given their hectic schedules and the fact that we missed them while they were away, I decided to invite them to stay for dinner with us rather than just grabbing the dog and heading home. I figured a hot prepared meal would be a nice way to finish a long weekend since they were probably tired and wouldn't have much time or energy for grocery shopping and cooking. I warned them that the meal I was preparing was not going to be anything fancy but would hit the spot nonetheless.

I ended up serving Spicy Chicken Soup with Monterey Jack and Roasted Red Pepper Quesadillas which is the perfect accompaniment for this meal. Now, the best thing about this meal is that the entire thing can be prepared start to finish in about 15 minutes. Now that's what I call quick and easy. You can adjust the spice by adding more or less adobo chiles. Truthfully, I wish I had added a couple more chiles last night because it was not as spicy as usual. I admit that I have made this before, but since they seemed to be such big fans, I told Jeremy and Katy I would post it on the blog nonetheless.

Spicy Chicken Soup

Serve with quesadillas - suggested fillings are monterey jack cheese and slices of roasted red peppers.

Ingredients

1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast strips (such as Louis Rich; about 12 ounces)
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (such as Del Monte)
1 (11-ounce) can whole-kernel corn with sweet peppers, drained

Preparation

Remove 1 chile from can; reserve the remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Mince chile.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onions, garlic, and cumin; saute 4 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Stir in minced chile, chicken, broth, tomatoes, and corn. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 358(30% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 2.8g,mono 4.4g,poly 2g); PROTEIN 40.6g; CHOLESTEROL 95mg; CALCIUM 65mg; SODIUM 1536mg; FIBER 4.9g; IRON 2.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23.3g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2001