I ran across this recipe in Cooking Light (Dec 2004) and I make it year after year now. It is the perfect rainy day, cold weather soup. I have altered it some over the years and this is my version.

Ingredients

• 1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups sliced onion
• 1 red pepper cut into chunks
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Course sea salt and pepper
• 5 medium red potatoes cut into chunks (reserve two for adding to the blended soup)
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup roasted Grape Tomatoes (or diced plum tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (for topping)
• Shredded Cheese (for topping)
• Avocado slices (for topping soup)

Preparation

1. Remove 1 chile and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can; reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Finely chop chile; set chile and sauce aside separately. (You can add more if you want more spice-take out seeds if you want less).
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook slowly until caramelized, add chile, and next 7 ingredients; cook until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in broth; bring to a low boil. Add chicken; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon, and cool slightly. Shred chicken with 2 forks; cover and keep warm.
3. Remove pan from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Place one-third of broth mixture in a blender (or use immersion blender); process until smooth. Pour pureed broth mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure in two more batches with remaining broth mixture. Return pureed broth mixture to pan. Stir in the 2 remaining potatoes and hominy; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in chicken; simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in reserved adobo sauce, tomatoes, cilantro, and salt. Serve topped with avocado and shredded cheese. This is great with cornbread.

*I have also added corn to this.

This freezes well.