Foodie Fridays: Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Soup

A few months ago our local Kroger stores were roasting Hatch chiles right in front of the store and offering them for sale for a limited time.  My husband, who loves these chiles, decided to stock up on some by freezing them.  I have been wanting to make this recipe for Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup ever since, but the weather was just too hot.  Well, we have finally had our first frost, so I think it is soup time now!

The original version is a Weight Watchers recipe, but I modified it a bit and sautéed the vegetables in some olive oil before simmering the rest of the ingredients together because I like the added flavor.  I used light sour cream instead of fat-free because I do not like the thickeners used to make the fat-free version creamier (I prefer the Daisy brand because no additives are used except for vitamin A palmitate).  My soup was not as smooth-looking as the one in the photo above, and this substitution may be the reason, but the result is still tasty, especially if you sprinkle a little shredded cheese over the top (which I'm afraid makes my recipe no longer Weight Watchers approved!).

Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Soup

2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 C. frozen corn
4 C. fresh baby spinach (I used one bag of prepackaged baby spinach)
3 Hatch chiles, roasted and diced
4 C. water
4 C. chicken stock or broth
1 T. cumin
1 tsp. salt

1 lb. cooked and shredded chicken breast

1 C. light sour cream

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté until translucent, about 7-8 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook one minute longer.  Add the remaining ingredients except for the sour cream and simmer on medium heat for 30-60 minutes.  Stir in the sour cream and heat through.  Serves 8.

Note: A crock pot can also be used.  Cook all ingredients for 3 hours on LOW.