Tortilla Soup

Yum! The air is cooler and crisper and the shorter days of fall are upon us. I love spring but I adore fall….the smells, the food and all the wonderful colors. I am also happy that it is time to make soup! Here is a quick, easy and delish recipe to make a pot of chicken tortilla soup.

Gather your ingredients:

Butter

Hot sauce (if you like spicy, omit if you don’t)

Garlic or garlic salt/powder

Rotel tomatoes any blend you prefer

16 0z chicken broth or stock

1 can of black beans

1 can of crisp or shoepeg corn

onion, green or white (optional)

Lime juice (fresh is better)

Chili powder

Cumin seed (ground)

Rotisserie chicken (3-4 lbs)

1-2 avocado

Tortilla chips

Shredded cheese (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Cilantro (optional)

This recipe will feed 4

As you will see this is a very forgiving recipe—you can make any number or changes and it will still turn out great!

Starting with a 3.5qt sauce pan

First chop about 1/4 cup of green onions

Add a tablespoon or two of garlic

1 teaspoon of hot sauce

1 tablespoon of butter

Over medium high heat, saute’ the mixture until the onions begin to wilt and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the can of black beans. I don’t drain mine as it gives the soup a bit more “body” without having to add a thickening agent.

Crack open that can of Rotel tomatoes and put them in the pot, liquid and all. Now is the time you should also add 1-2 teaspoons of chili powder (I used a chipotle chile pepper powder from McCormick and is tasty but POWerful!), and 1-2 teaspoons of cumin powder.

Toss in that can of crisp corn and admire the lovely colors that are melded to together in this tasty fall creation.

Pour your chicken stock over into your sauce pan and stir to combine all of the ingredients. If you have a fresh lime or lime juice, add about a Tablespoon to the stock. Bring the soup to a boil.

Allow to boil for about 10 minutes and then turn down to low to simmer for another 45 minutes. You *can* serve the soup once it is heated through, but a bit more cooking time is better since it allows the flavors to mature. If you would like to top the pot back off after the boil, you can either add more stock or 1-2 cups of hot water. Also, take a taste of your soup and make sure that it has all the flavor you need or want. I didn’t mention adding salt or pepper but if you desire it, now is a good time to add it.

While the soup is simmering, prepare your chicken by shredding with two forks (or just slice it if you wish). In a deep soup bowl place a bit of shredded cheese topped by the chicken. Ladle the soup on top.

Embellish the soup with a bit of avocado and sour cream if you like. (oh my that is one UGLY avocado!)

Finish off with a handful of tortilla chips (I like the lime flavored) and

TADA! Soup’s on

 

Special notes:

Since the mister is lactose intolerant–PRETEND you see the cheese and sour cream. Otherwise, things would have been ugly.

It would be relatively easy to make this in a vegetarian version omitting the chicken, using vegetable broth and leaving off the dairy. Tofu is up to you.

This pot of soup was great but it was super spicy — please adjust to your taste.

One last thing….

I adore cilantro

The mister does not