Cajun Chicken & Rice Soup

This recipe is for a teacher lunch and was yummy! It was supposed to be in honor of "Fat Tuesday", but then we got a snow day, so I had to postpone it. It still was yummy though! I tripled the recipe, so it's rather large, but if you would like to make the original recipe, you can find it here. It's also gluten free! My advice: make a ton and freeze the leftovers. :-)

Cajun Chicken & Rice Soup

Ingredients:

* 2.5 lb. chicken breast (salt, pepper, couple celery ribs & an onion)

* 3 medium onions, chopped

* 6 celery ribs, chopped

* Oil

* 1/4 cup minced fresh garlic cloves

* 2 (14.5oz.) cans diced tomatoes & green chilies, including juices

* 2 cups orange juice

* 1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro

* 2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning

* 2 tsp oregano (I used Italian seasoning)

* 1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

* 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

* 1 tsp cayenne pepper

* 3 (15oz) cans of pinto beans (I used my black bean & corn mixture)

Directions:

1. Place chicken in large stockpot and cover with water. Add everything listed next to chicken in the ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover/simmer for 1-2 hours or until the chicken is tender. 

2. Remove chicken from the broth and set aside to cool.

3. Carefully strain broth from vegetables and seasonings, while saving the broth for the soup. (Skim the fat).

4. When chicken has cooled a bit, shred. (I use a stand up mixer)

5. In the large stockpot, saute onion and celery in butter until the onion is crisp-tender.

6. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.

7. Stir in the tomatoes, OJ, cilantro, seasonings and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover/simmer 20 minutes or until veggies are tender.

8. Stir in the rice, beans and chicken; heat through.

 Yield: 24 servings (9 quarts).

Breakdown: (per 1 1/2 cup)

393 calories

12 g fat (4 g saturated fat)

120 mg cholesterol

776 mg sodium

27 g carbohydrate

4 g fiber

42 g protein