Chicken, Sausage and Bean Soup

“Baby, it’s cold outside.”  Warm up with some soup on the inside.  No offense, Mary Lee, but the best part of our last committee meeting was receiving two new recipes – this being one (thank you, Gayle!) and the barbecue shrimp that I have mentioned before but still have not posted.

The flu really knocked me out silly.  David proved to make an excellent Mr. Mom.  When I asked him to drive the kids to school again today, he replied “well now I just think you are taking advantage of me.”

Ingredients

Chicken, Sausage and Bean Soup

1. 1 pound chicken tenders
2. Salt and pepper
3. 3/4 pound sausage (Rachael uses chorizo; I chose Polish; Gayle cooked with Italian sausage made with chicken)
4. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5. 3 cloves garlic, smashed
6. 1 medium onion, chopped
7. 6 small red potatoes, diced
8. 1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted chopped tomatoes (recommended: Muir Glen)
9. 1 (15-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
10. 2 teaspoons hot sauce
11. 1 quart (32 oz) chicken stock
12. Suggested garnishes: red or blue corn tortilla chips, cheese like pepper jack or smoked Cheddar, avocado, chopped scallions, chopped cilantro or fresh thyme leaves

Preheat medium/large soup pot over medium-high heat.

Chop raw chicken tenders into bite-size pieces. Wash up, then season chicken with salt and pepper. Dice chorizo. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken to pot. Lightly brown chicken 2 minutes (I cooked until I didn’t see pink on any part of the outside of the chicken), then add the chorizo and garlic. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, then add onions and potatoes. Cook 5 minutes, then stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, and hot sauce. Add chicken stock and bring soup to a bubble.

Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender 10-12 minutes.  Ladle soup into shallow bowls.  To serve, you can top each bowl with a generous handful of crushed tortillas and cheese and then place under the broiler in the oven to melt the cheese.  Garnish with avocados, scallions and/or herbs.