Bean Week

I decided to start with something basic and familiar:

White Chicken Chili
3 cups cooked white beans ( 2 cans rinsed or 3 c pre-cooked in a crock pot)
4 cups broth
1 large onion
1 yellow bell pepper, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (with seeds for more heat and flavor)
2 Poblano or Anaheim peppers, minced
 4 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon cumin
 1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 large chicken breast, diced.

Serve with cilantro, lime and plain yogurt.

Adjust the heat with the mix of peppers.  This combo results in a mild-medium hot chili (depending upon the peppers and  your taste buds)
On the heat scale:
Jalapeno = 3500-8000
Poblano 1000-2000
Anaheim 500-2000

Minestrone Soup
2 onions, diced
4-8 cloves of garlic
1 46 oz of V-8 juice

1 quart low sodium broth
4-6 cups cooked dried beans (garbanzo, lima, white)
6-8 large carrots, diced
inner 4-6 stalks of celery including the leaves, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cups whole wheat pasta
1 Tablepoon each of dry oregano and basil
1 teaspoon each of thyme, onion powder, and garlic powder

2 zucchini, diced
4 cups fresh greens (spinach, cabbage, chard)
1 pound frozen  peas

Cook onions until golden, add garlic and cook 3-5 min.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer 15-20 minutes.  You may want to wait until the last 5 minutes to add the greens, peas and any veggies that you want to remain crunchy such as zucchini.

Serve with fresh parsley, basil and parmesean cheese.