Ingredients

• 3 cups celery, diced
• 1 cup yellow onion, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 4 ounces chipotle chiles in adobo
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 3 teaspoons cumin
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can red beans
• 2 (15 ounce) cans dark red kidney beans
• 1 cooked chicken, boned and cut up (discard the skin)

Instructions

1. In a soup pot, add celery, onion, red peppers, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, tomato paste, pureed chipotle chili (puree in blender with the adobo sauce. It might work better if you add some of the chicken broth), chili powder and cumin. Cook at a low boil for an hour or so.

2. Puree half a can of dark red kidney beans in a blender or food processor and add to the soup pot. Add the remaining 1 ½ cans of kidney beans, red beans and black beans to the pot. Simmer for at least 2 hours.

3. If it is not “hot” enough add as much Tabasco sauce as you need to achieve the “heat” you desire.

4. If you are making it a day ahead (If you do the flavors will blend well), turn off the heat and add the chicken. (It works well to use an already cooked rotisserie chicken.) After it cools, refrigerate. When you are ready to serve, heat to boiling. (You don’t want to cook it for very long after you add the chicken to avoid having the chicken fall apart.).

5. If you plan to serve it right away, add the chicken 15 or twenty minutes before serving and heat to boiling.

6. Optional: Serve with grated cheese, cilantro, sliced green onions and sour cream as toppings.