January 2015 A great New Year!

January is the start of a new year….2015.  It will be a great year.  Here’s a few funny items  for the month.  January is National Stalking Awareness Month. It is also ‘Be Kind to Food Server Month’, I wonder if that includes us at home as well as at a restaurant.  January 20-26 is ‘Clean Out Your Inbox Week;.  Now that is a really good idea.  It is also National Soup Month.  What could be better than a warm bowl of soup?

I love the taste of this soup.  I like to add additional cilantro. Your choice.  The beans are very flavorful in this soup.  The lime adds a tangy flavor with just a hint of cinnamon and cumin and cilantro.

Here’s what I do about chicken and chicken broth.  I get a roasted chicken from the store and have it for dinner.  Then with the leftovers bones and all I put it in a pot with about 8 cups of water and maybe a little chicken bouillon cubes and cook for 3-4 hours slowly.  This will make a great chicken broth.  I use some in this soup and freeze the rest for another pot of soup.

This is the main soup in my novel, The Bonnie Neuk Tea Room: Friends and Uninvited Guests (Ghosts) Victoria Storms serves this in her tea room.  Check out my website at www.thebonnieneuktearoom.com

White Bean and Lime Chicken Soup

2 Tablespoons butter

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can  (7 oz) green chilies, chopped

1 Tablespoon  cilantro, chopped

1 small Jalapeño pepper, remove veins and seeds *

1 can (29 oz) can white beans (navy and/or Great Northern)

1 can (29oz) diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

Dash of cinnamon

Lime juice from 1 fresh lime (use a reamer)

1 cup chicken pieces-cut in small pieces

8 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute butter, onions, and garlic in a large soup pot until translucent

      about 10 minutes.

Add the chopped Jalapeño pepper and green chilies and

      saute with other mix for 5 minutes on low heat.

Add chicken broth, tomatoes and beans to onion mixture.

Add cilantro, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and  diced tomatoes.

Simmer for 30 minutes

Add lime juice and pieces of chicken.

Heat for 5 minutes until chicken is warm.

Serve with garnish of cilantro spring

Serves 4-6 

* If you don’t want the soup too spicy eliminate the Jalapeño pepper