Souperday - Stoplight Pepper Chicken Fajita Soup with Avocado Relish

This is a really great soup. It's a full meal in a bowl and you can add or change the ingredients to suit your taste.  Make it spicy or mild. The avocado relish adds a delicious creaminess and will cool it down if you spice it up too much.  

For the soup you need:

• Red, green and yellow bell peppers (stoplight peppers)
• Jalapeno or other hot peppers
• 2 onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 carton chicken broth
• 2 cans fire roasted tomatoes (or one large can regular diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups frozen corn
• Juice of one lime

Plus two boneless chicken breasts and some spices:

For the spice mixture:

• 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

And finally for the avocado relish:

• 1 avocado
• 100g (3oz) queso fresco or soft goat's cheese or feta (I can't find queso fresco unfortunately) 
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
• 1/3 cup green onions

Mix your spices together.

Slice the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.

And sprinkle the chicken with 1.5 tablespoons of the spice mixture.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large soup pot.

Add the spiced chicken and sear both sides.

Take your colourful peppers.

Chop them up.

And add them to the pot along with the onions, garlic and hot peppers. Toss them together and sauté for a few minutes until slightly softened.

Then sprinkle with the remaining spice mix, stir and cook for a few more minutes.

Pour in the carton of chicken stock.

These tomatoes have a bit of smoky flavour. If you can't find them you could use a little chipotle or smoked paprika with regular tomatoes to get a similar flavour.

Add the tomatoes to the pot.

And the corn kernels.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile make your avocado relish.

Zest the lime.  Dice the avocado, chop the green onions and crumble the goat's cheese.

And mix it all together. My avocado was a little riper than is ideal so it's a bit messy but it still tastes great.

Serve up the soup in a big bowl.

And top with the avocado relish.

This is a nice, hearty soup that makes a great meal. I even added beans and rice to the leftovers for a different taste.  Yum!

Chicken Fajitas

The first time I had chicken fajitas was at the Lone Star Texas Grill in Mississauga, Ontario in the late 1980s.  It was so unbelievably exotic to me!  I'd had tacos before, from Old El Paso and Taco Bell, but I'd never had someone bring me a sizzling plate of meat and vegetables to assemble myself in warm flour tortillas!  I was in heaven.  This particular chain restaurant served rice with their fajitas, so that's how I prefer them to this day.

I like to use grilled boneless chicken thighs with so much more flavour than chicken breasts.  I use a spice rub on them. This also makes a great taco seasoning.

To make a large portion of this taco seasoning you need:

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp pepper

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

Mix it all together and sprinkle over the boneless chicken thighs.

Grill the chicken.  Meanwhile we'll make some rice.  Cook rice with tomato puree instead of water if you like (or just with water).  Do this in advance if possible so it'll be cooked and hot when the chicken goes on the grill.  Add some corn (frozen is ok) to a pan to toast.

Add the white parts of some green onions and a chopped jalapeno pepper.  

Add the rice and saute until warmed through.

Meanwhile, chop a red onion and pepper (bell pepper or hungarian pepper) into thick slices.  Add them to the grill along with the chicken.

One more meanwhile... chop some lettuce and shred some cheese while the chicken finishes grilling.

Bring the chicken in from the grill and chop with the onions and peppers.

Finally, warm the tortillas and assemble with cheese, rice, chicken, veggies and sour cream.