Folks, I think winter has finally passed and spring is well on the way. This may be the final bit of cooler evening temperatures until Autumn!

Back in January 2013 I tested a delicious recipe from one of Clean Eating magazine’s back issues. I wasn’t able to post the full recipe at the time, but here it is now: modified, improved, and then some! This time in lieu of mushrooms, I’m adding hearty hominy, along with sweet corn kernels. My darn sweet neighbor introduced me to hominy, and now I’m obsessed with them! The best way to describe hominy is that they are like “chewy nubs.” Enjoy! 🙂

I might as well have called this the “everything but the kitchen sink soup,” given the lengthy name! 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

• organic extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion ~ peeled, coarsely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic ~ peeled, sliced
• 10 cups filtered water
• 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes ~ peeled and diced
• 1 lb organic or free-range boneless, skinless chicken breasts ~ cut into 1″ chunks
• 1-2 ears corn ~ cut kernels from the cob
• 1 can (30 oz.) golden hominy
• 1 large bunch organic kale ~ tough stems removed and leaves coarsely torn
• dried oregano
• organic evaporated cane sugar ~ to taste
• sea salt ~ to taste
• fresh ground black pepper ~ to taste
• scallions (optional) ~ chopped
• cilantro or Italian parsley (optional) ~ chopped
• jalapeños (optional) ~ sliced

PREPARATION:

1. In a large, stainless steel stockpot, heat the oil on med-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until they are an aromatic golden brown.
2. Add potatoes and chicken. Sauté until about 1/2 cooked (about 5 minutes). Add more oil as needed, to avoid the chicken from sticking to the pot.
3. Add water, corn, hominy, oregano, and spices of your choice. Bring it to a boil for about 2 minutes.
4. Turn the heat down and let the soup simmer until the chicken and potatoes are cooked (about 5-10 minutes).
5. Turn off stove. Remove the pot from the burner and fold in the kale with a metal ladle.
6. Garnish with sliced jalapeños, scallions, and cilantro or parsley.