Chicken Stew with Harvest Vegetables

This is one of my favorite chicken vegetable soup recipes.  Best of all it's low calorie and freezes beautifully.

Chicken Stew with Harvest Vegetables

Ingredients

1 cup dried white beans

10 cups chicken broth

1 large onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 small fennel bulb, diced

1 small rutabaga, diced

2 carrots, diced

4 oz sweet Italian sausage

6 oz pre-cooked shredded chicken

15 baby potatoes, scrubbed and diced

1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 24-inch pieces

1 can (14.5 oz) diced, fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ tsp rosemary

1 tsp Italian herbs

Directions

1. Rinse the beans and soak them overnight in enough cold water to cover.

Drain and rinse them again.

2. Put the beans in a soup pot with broth. Bring to a boil and add the vegetables. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1½ hours.

3. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a skillet on medium heat, using a wooden spoon to crumble.

4. Add the sausage and chicken to the soup pot with the bean and vegetable mixture. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and Italian herbs.  Return to a simmer and cook, covered, for 45 minutes.

Note 1:  Substitute mild Italian sausage if you like your soup spicier.  Substitute italian spiced turkey sausage for reduced calories.

Note 2:  This recipe freezes very well.  I recommend freezing the soup in one-person servings for convenience.