chicken tortilla soup
Here’s a soup that pleases crowds. Everyone in our family makes and serves this soup and everyone, from little kids to (occasionally) grumpy grandpas, loves it. A fairly long list of ingredients, but it’s a soup easily concocted, and easy to double or triple when entertaining bigger groups. If a soup can be casual and fun, this one is.
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Chicken Tortilla Soup
(serves 6)
- four 6-inch corn tortillas
- about 2 teaspoons olive oil (to brush on tortillas) + 1 Tablespoon (to sauté vegetables with)
- 2 – 14 ounce cans low sodium chicken broth (or 28 ounces of your very own!)
- 2 cups water
- 1 -14.5 ounce can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with juice (or see photo for alternative)
- 1 small can of green chiles, chopped (mild)
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can cream of corn (the only time I ever use this stuff!)
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1⁄8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ large yellow onion, chopped (1½ cups)
- ½ red pepper, chopped (about ½ cup)
- 2 generous Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 12 ounces chicken breast meat (from a grilled, roasted or rotisseried chicken) (see NOTE)
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
(NOTE on the chicken: If you use an home-done oven-roasted chicken, save the juices from the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate and remove the fat from the top, and incorporate the tasty juices into your soup.)
Garnishes:
- sour cream
- tortilla chips (Tostito lime chips are great here!)
- grated cheddar cheese
- sliced or chunked avocado
- a drizzle of hot sauce of your choice – or a sprinkle of the seasoning blend of your choice (like the fabulous “Uncle Jim’s Secret Spice” – if you’re lucky enough to be Jim’s sister)
(Please imagine shredded cheddar on the bowl below. Sadly, I forgot to add it before I grabbed my camera, so anxious to lift the spoon, I was!)
If you wanted to add rice, or zucchini, green beans, mushrooms, or a little sweet potato, you could customize this soup entirely to suit your tastes. Didn’t I tell you it was fun?
cooking-spree 