White Chili

So, I'm a soup fanatic. It's the meal I make the most. So, here's another soup idea!
I wanted to make creamy soup, but use up some fresh vegetables, so I made traditional white chili with some additions.

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 chicken breast
2 pealed carrots
1 stalk celery
1/2 yellow onion
1 can white beans rinsed and drained
1/2 can green chiles (or a splash or red Thai chile sauce, which is what I had on hand)
1 tbsp garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup yogurt or milk
Fresh chopped cilantro to taste
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken, carrots, and celery and saute until there is no pink in the middle of the pieces and the vegetables are soft. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes; add the garlic, green chiles/chile sauce, cumin, Italian Seasoning and some salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes then add the broth. Next add the beans and cilantro. Simmer on low for 20 minutes; taste during this time and add more spices as desired. Stir in yogurt and heat for several more minutes and then garnish with shredded cheese and cilantro and enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

I saw this recipe in the weightwatchers cookbook and had most of the ingredients, so I decided to try out an edited version of it.

Ingredients
Cooking spray
one small-medium onion chopped (white or yellow)
1 tbsp chopped ginger root
2 medium garlic cloves minced
1 chicken breast diced into about 1-inch cubes
1 cup canned pineapple chunks with juice
1/2 can black beans
Instructions
Before beginning cooking, put black beans with juice from can in a blender or magic bullet with a little water and blend until very smooth and runny. Add more water or chicken broth if you have it to get it smooth. (The original recipe calls for black bean sauce, but I didn't have any so I did this instead.)
Set aside.
In a saute pan, cook ginger, garlic, and onion until tender over medium heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides.
Add pineapple and juice as well as the black bean sauce mixture.Bring to a simmer and simmer until chicken is cooked through--about 5 minutes.
Serve over rice.

Thai Cocunut Soup

This soup is a combination of two different recipes I've found -- I also tweaked and added some things. It's geared to one or two people, but you can double it to feed more. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1-2 chicken breasts chopped
2 large sweet potatoes chopped
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 tablespoon Thai seasoning
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped red or orange bell pepper
1 can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (You can add more broth or more water if necessary)
1 teaspoon fish sauce (If you don’t have any, just use soy sauce for both)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 (13.5-ounce) can light or regular coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

I mixed together my own Thai spices
chili pepper, cardamom, coriander, red pepper flakes, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, lemon peel, onion powder, jalapeno salt/seasoning, cayenne pepper, and sesame Seeds.

Note: I just eye-balled the amount of each, but I would recommend using larger portions of chili pepper, garlic, coriander and onion and then a little lesser of cumin, sesame, red pepper flakes, and jalapeno seasoning. Put the least amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon peel, cayenne, and cardamom.

Instructions
Mix Thai spices in a bowl or bag with the chopped chicken
Spray the bottom of a large cooking pot and add chicken. Sauté until cooked through and then set aside.
In the same pot, add chopped sweet potatoes, ginger, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft and mushy and the broth is reduced slightly (about 10 minutes).
Transfer into a blender or magic bullet and puree mixture. Set aside.
Spray bottom of pan again and add chopped bell pepper. Sauté 2 minutes. Add puree, reserved chicken, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Simmer for several minutes and then add coconut milk. Cook about 2 minutes or until heated through.
Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.