Cuban Chicken Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 8 broiler-fryer chicken thighs, skinned, fat trimmed
• 8 cups water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2-16-ounce cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 ¼ teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• ¼ cup sliced green onion
• Cooked rice

Directions

Place chicken in large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add water, garlic, salt and bay leaves. Cook over medium high heat until mixture boils. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook about 35 minutes or until chicken is fork tender. Remove chicken. Set aside. Chill broth until fat solidifies and can be skimmed from surface. Separate meat from bones; cut into bite-size pieces and set aside. To defatted broth in same pan, add green pepper and onion and cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add chicken, black beans lime juice, cumin, sugar and oregano. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes. Stir in hot pepper sauce. Place 2 tablespoons cooked rice in individual bowls; ladle soup over rice. Sprinkle with green onion. Makes 2 1/2 quarts.