Chicken Tortilla Soup

Bad picture, but I promise it tastes great!

While I was snowed in last week I made our menu for this week.  I thought this soup would hit the spot with the cold weather.  I love how you can make it your own with all the different toppings you can add.  This is a great Sunday soup to make since you need a little time for it to cook.

I am sitting here now, snacking on some pistachios, wishing I had a bowl of this soup in front of me!  You get hungry at 10AM when you get up at 5AM.

I made two batches of this soup.  One for my small group co-leader who just had her 5th child right after Christmas.  We lead a group of freshman girls at InsideOut which is the high school ministry at North Point Community Church.  Our girls are awesome!  We have 21 total.  We meet once a week on Sunday evenings for a service just for the high school students.  We then break off and have small group time where we discuss questions from the service.  I also have the pleasure of hanging out with them outside of group too.  We are having a pancake breakfast this weekend which will be so fun!  I get to see these girls grow in their faith over the next four years.  What an awesome experience!  

The other batch was for my other small group.  My husband and I also lead a married couples small group.  We formed this group from close friends.  There have been some changes lately in group members so we wanted to host a dinner with the "new" group and allow everyone some social time to get to know each other.  We had a great time over a great meal.  Lauren made a yummy batch of gluten free Mexican brownies for dessert.  She said she would post the recipe soon so here is a link to her blog.

As I have mentioned many times, I do not like bell peppers so I omitted them from this recipe and it was still great.  Feel free to play with the toppings.  I read the original reviews and everyone said you definitely should add some lime to the finished product.  I agree!  Great flavor!

I cut the tortilla strips and sprayed them with PAM and placed them in the oven at 350 for about 6 minutes then under the broiler for about 1 minutes to make them crisp.  This step is not necessary since you will be putting them in soup and they will get soggy, but I like it anyway:)

Source:  The Pioneer Woman
Servings:  8

Ingredients:

• 2 whole chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 can rotel tomatoes and green chilies
• 32 ounces low sodium chicken broth (I used 2-14.5 oz cans because that is what we had in the pantry)
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste
• 4 cups hot water (just let the tap water run until hot)
• 2 cans black beans rinsed and drained
• 3 tbsp. cornmeal or masa
• 5 whole corn tortillas, cut into strips about 2-3 inches
• Optional toppings: sour cream, diced avocado, diced red onion, salsa or pico, grated cheese (monterey jack, cheddar), cilantro, and definitely lime.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

Mix cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt.  

Drizzle approximately 1 tbsp. olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides.  Set aside the rest of the spice mix for later.  Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until your meat thermometer says they are done.  

Use two forks to shred chicken.  Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a pot over medium heat.  Add onions, peppers, and minced garlic.  

Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix.  

Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.  

Pour in rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans.  Bring to a  boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.  

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water.  

Pour into soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes.  Check seasonings, adding more if needed.  I added a few more shakes of all (chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt).  Turn off heat and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes.  Add tortilla strips before serving.  Serve and add toppings.  Enjoy!