Ok, so I had my brother and dad eating dinner with us tonight… PLUS my husband and father-in-law… and Me… SO… I had to make sure I had something quick, easy, not a ton of dishes that I had to clean up, and that would feed everyone and be satisfying… what do I make?? SOUP! I know, it’s like 90 degrees out today, but it was honestly really satisfying, and tasted soo good! I was surprised! But it probably helped that I basically ate this with chips. 

All of the guys gave it a thumbs up too, really good and filling. And, I’ve got a bit of leftovers too! YAY for me! 🙂

So, in the mood for a slightly spicy tortilla soup? Eat it will tortillas in it, or scoop it up with chips (if you’re like me and would like to skip the whole soggy tortilla idea)…

Chicken (sans-tortilla) Soup!

Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
About 1 1/4 teaspoons chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion diced
1 red bell pepper diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper
One 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles, such as Rotel
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups hot water
1 1/2 cups organic tomato sauce
1 can organic black beans (rinsed well)
1 cup frozen corn
3 tablespoons cornmeal
5 small corn tortillas (or a large bag of tortilla chips as I preferred)

Directions

Start by mixing together the cumin, 1 teaspoon of the chilli powder, the garlic powder and salt. Drizzle the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture. Set the rest of the spice mixture aside. Put into the bottom of a large pot (like you would boil potatoes in) that’s been coated in 1 TB olive oil and cook until browned on both sides (about 3-5 min per side). Next, throw in the onions, red bell peppers and garlic. Throw in a tablespoon of the spice mixture used to season the soup. Add a little extra chilli powder (about 1/4 teaspoon) for heat and a dash of cayenne pepper. Stir to cook the vegetables, about 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, juice and all. Add the chicken broth, hot water and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Shred the chicken while in the sauce and then continue to cook. Add the drained black beans and the corn. Next, mix together the cornmeal with 1/2 cup water. Add the mixture to the pot, and then simmer the soup for 10 to 15 minutes. Give it a taste and add salt or seasonings as needed; be sure to not under salt it!

Cut the tortillas into uniform 2- to 3-inch strips. Stir most of them into the soup just before serving. This is what makes tortilla soup tortilla soup! Turn off the heat and get ready to serve it up. Ladle the soup into a bowl, then add avocado, red onion, sour cream, cilantro and extra tortilla strips to the top. The more toppings on tortilla soup, the merrier. 

**** The above paragraph about the tortillas I copied from the original recipe (That I made a few changes to) so that you could see how she added tortillas to her soup. I personally did NOT. I just ate the soup with tortilla chips… up to you!

Here is her original recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Enjoy!!!

And now, for the quote of the day: