Chili-Spiced Chicken Soup with Avocado Relish

One of the great things about living in New York is having a lot of young professionals for friends. So many of my friends here in the city are working for great companies, on the road to their dream jobs. I am so proud of all of them, and although they tend to relate their lives to The Devil Wears Prada sometimes, they know they are just paying their dues and slowly making their was to the top of the food chain.

I am so proud of all of them sitting in their offices working their butts off in high heels while I put on my sweatpants and go to dance class.

My friend Lisa works for a major corporation and has quickly made her way up in the office rankings. Of course, I always knew this would happen. She is probably the most dedicated and focused person I know.

One perk of Lisa's job is that she (read: I) get a lot of free stuff. This includes but is not limited to: makeup, magazines, cd's and clothing. Jealous yet?

It gets better. I got an entire subscription to Cooking Light about 6 months ago viciously discounted. So I get to perruse my Cooking Light each month almost free. I've been swimming in delight for months now.

The only point I have is that my recipe today is from the Cooking Light magazine. I just loved this soup. It has a pretty good kick to it and is just perfect to sit on the couch with after a long, tiring day. Lots of vegetables make it a pretty hearty soup.

Chili-Spices Chicken Soup with Avocado Relish adapted from Cooking Light 

Spice Blend:

2 ½ teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Soup:

1 tablespoon canola oil, divided

1 ¼ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch wide strips

2 cups chopped sweet onion

1 chopped red pepper

1 chopped yellow pepper

1 chopped orange pepper

1 cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon salt

1 32-oz carton less-sodium chicken broth

1 28-oz can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Relish:

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1 teaspoon grated lime rind

1 diced, peeled avocado

Cilantro sprigs

To prepare spice blend, combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.

 To prepare soup, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle 1 ½ tablespoons spice blend over chicken. Sauté 8 minutes or until done; cool. Chop chicken; set aside.

 Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat; add onion, bell peppers, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt. Sprinkle vegetable mixture with remaining spice blend; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in chicken, broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Add lime juice.

 To prepare relish, combine chopped cilantro and next 4 ingredients (through avocado).

 Ladle 1 ¼ cups soup into bowls; top with ¼ cup relish. Garnish with cilantro if desired.