Today is the first day of fall and it was also our first cool morning in Kansas as well. It was 47 degrees when I awoke early this morning and going to be a night requiring full leathers when I ride my Harley Davidson into work tonight at midnight. What is the best thing for dinner or lunch on a cool fall day? How about a hearty and delicious soup. This soup should please your entire family. If not, there may just be something seriously wrong with them…

For quicker preparation of this soup and other dishes calling for roast garlic, mash several heads of baked garlic at a time. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze small dollops in resealable plastic freezer bags. There is no need to thaw them before using in a cooked dish.

• 6 unpeeled cloves of garlic
• 1 roasted fryer chicken (3 pounds)
• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 can 15 1/2 ounces red beans, drained
• 2 small ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
• grated peel of 1 lemon
• salt and freshl ground pepper to taste
• 1.2 bunch flat parsley, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Prick each garlic clove with a sharp knife and place on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes. Squeeze the garlic from the skins and mash in a small bowl with a spoon.

3. Remove the skin from the chicken and cut the meat from the bones and then into sall pieces. A rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store works great if you do not want to bake one yourself.

4. In a large sauce pan, combine the broth, beans, celery, thyme, lemon peel and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and then bring the soup first to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for another 5 minutes.

5. Serve with the parsley scattered over the top.

This recipe seves six and each serving yields 306 calories, 8g carbohydrates, 43g protein, 12g fat and 5g fiber