Three Bean Chicken Soup

Three bean chicken soup, a great way to warm your inners when the weather turns chilly.

Beans, what a marvelous food. Did you know that they are high in protein, have virtually no fat, and are full of fiber? There are many to choose from, but one of my favorites is the black bean. Among the many things I like about beans, they are so versatile. What dish wouldn’t be complemented by some kind of bean?

A couple of years ago I started cooking more with beans when I decided to start eating a little healthier.  I am a lover of soup; I could eat soup 7 days a week. So I definitely use beans in a lot of my soups. My three bean chicken soup is just something that I started throwing ingredients together and was surprised to see how well it turned out. I like to cook a big pot of this soup so that I can take it for my lunch at work. That is another reason this soup is so good, it tastes just as great reheated as the day that you made it.

Depending on my mood I sometimes make this soup very spicy and I sometimes make it not so spicy. Also, I guess it kind of depends on the temperature outside. This week when I made this soup it was quite hot and muggy so I decide to tone down the spiciness of the soup. No need to overdo it too much.

Three Bean Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
42 ounces of sodium reduced chicken broth
2 cups of shredded or cubed cooked chicken
1 14.5 ounce can black beans rinsed
1 14.5 ounce can kidney beans rinsed
1 14.5 ounce can chili beans
2 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup of frozen corn
1 to 2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
ground red pepper to taste (for a spicier soup)

Directions:
Heat up the olive oil in a large soup kettle. Dice the onions and garlic and brown in the heated olive oil. Once the onion and the garlic are tender basically throw the other ingredients in. Add the seasonings to taste. It all depends on how spicy you like your food. I usually add my spices and taste as I go along until I get to the stage of spiciness that I want. Once you have all the ingredients added bring this mixture to a boil, once it comes to a boil turn down to a simmer and let it simmer for about an hour so all the flavors come together.