I know it’s summer, not typical soup season, but I didn’t want to wait until fall to share this recipe. And we didn’t want to wait until fall to eat it again.

After Hannah was born, we were so blessed by friends and lifegroup families bringing us meals. One night was this Chicken Verde Soup, and we were hooked. I asked for the recipe (which is luckily really easy) and have been making it regularly ever since.

Chicken Verde Soup

• 1 box chicken stock (32 oz)
• 1 bottle verde salsa
• 3-ish cups beans (2 cans drained and rinsed, or 1/2 bag dried beans prepared)
• meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 T. cumin (I really like cumin)

Add all ingredients to pot. Simmer for 20-ish minutes. Seriously easy.

This soup has a kick for sure. I guess you could add less verde salsa to tone it down; I like to mellow it a bit by adding sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips.

This serves 6-8, and my approximate cost for the soup was $10. Adding toppings is an extra $5, and you’ll probably even have a lot left over – could be used for an easy nacho night. Toddler modification: I kept aside some beans and chicken (plain) for Hannah. We usually eat this for dinner two nights, then I freeze the rest in individual-serving containers. When I need an easy lunch, I just pull one out of the freezer. Sometimes I hide it from Brett so he won’t take it for his lunch; that’s probably not very nice of me.

I think this is a good year-round soup because it is easy, tasty, and filling. It’s not thick and heavy like a lot of “winter soups” and stews. And when I eat it, I think of when Hannah was a baby and how thankful we are for sweet friends with good recipes.