More Soup!

     Today it finally feels like fall here--sort of.  The temperature is in the 60s, and it's overcast and a bit rainy. In my last post I made soup, but I've been craving more soup, especially something creamy. A thick, hearty soup just seems perfect for the weather today.

     I'm trying to keep up with my goal of (eventually) trying all of the recipes on my Cooking board on Pinterest.  I pinned this recipe for White Chicken Chili from the Cooking Classy blog a couple of weeks ago when I was looking at soup recipes after I made the Quick Chicken Meatball Soup.  It was an interesting recipe, using Neufchatel cheese and pureed beans to thicken the soup instead of a roux and cream or milk.  The cheese gives it a little creaminess and a slight tang that a dollop of sour cream gives a bowl of traditional chili.  A little lime juice adds a bit more tang and balances out the heat from the chili and paprika and the richness of the cheese and beans.

     I made the recipe pretty close to the original, but you know I had to tweak it a little, right?  Actually, the only changes I made were to increase the garlic and other spices.  I also used 1 can of cannellini beans and 1 can of small white beans because that's what I had in the house.  I added the extra spices after adding the beans because when I tasted the soup, it was a little light flavor-wise. I think it ended up being twice the garlic (because I love garlic) and one quarter to one half again as much of the other spices. The extra spices made it just right.  I served it as suggested with chopped cilantro and a little grated jack cheese.