Chicken Tortilla Soup...Mmmm

Okay Melania, this one's for you!!!  And for anyone else who needs a new favorite recipe!

At one of my retreats last fall, I made a scrumptious Chicken Tortilla Soup!  I am FINALLY getting around to posting the recipe.  And the greatest thing about this one is that it just may be one of the easiest soups ever and people just rave about how yummy it is!

Now -- to start out with, this can be full of grilled chicken or if you'd prefer veggie style, just leave the chicken out.  (Most often, we have it without the chicken or I make two pots - gotta please the crowds around here!)

Here's what you need to have on hand:

Canned Beans - you can do any mixture you like...I'll tell you what I love and then you can decide what is yummiest to you.  I SHOULD use all my dry beans from my food storage and soak them overnight and then make this the next day, but to be quite honest when I get a craving for this, there is simply not time for such busy work.  So I prefer to just walk out to my food storage and grab the following:  2 cans of chili beans, 2 cans of black beans, 2 cans of white northern beans, 1 can kidney beans, 1 can pinto beans (whole, not mashed up).

Other Goodies - while I am out grabbing all my beans, I also find 2 or 3 cans of green chiles, 2 cans of tomatoes and either a couple cans of corn or corn from my freezer that we did the year before (I prefer the frozen cause it is just yummy), I also like to add white hominy (you can leave it out if that isn't high on your list of deliciousness).  You'll also be needing 2 large cans (I think they are 29 oz cans, something like that) of Green Enchilada Sauce -- this is a MUST have, it is what creates that heavenly flavor!

Chicken Breast - I like to grill up a couple large chicken breasts and then cut them into small bite size pieces.  I usually start this just after adding all the other goodies into my crock pot - or if you'd prefer to eat it sooner, just throw it all in your stock pot and it'll cook up in a jiffy...

Spices - You will need Cumin, Cilantro, Lime, Onion Flakes (or if you'd prefer to do an onion, just chop it up and grill it up with your chicken), maybe a little salt, pepper -- that should do it.

So since I scatter all over the place, here's the way to put it all together ~ gather all your ingredients, start grilling your chicken, open and rinse all beans (with the exception of the chili beans, they have a super yummy sauce in them, so don't rinse that away), add corn, chiles and tomatoes -- no need to drain any of these.  After my chicken is done, I chop up and add then I add in a few extra's for some seasoning ~ this is where I will drive you crazy because I truly do not ever measure anything in the kitchen, it's just not me!  So I throw in some Cumin -- maybe something equivalent to 2 Tbls or so, Cilantro -- I would chop up a small bundle and throw it all in, Lime - just take a lime or two and squeeze the juice in.  Then I would give a good taste test and add salt and pepper to your liking.  I love things to be tasty, so I usually go heavy on the spices ~ if it doesn't have quite the flavor you are looking for, add a little more cilantro -- it works like magic! 

When it is heated thoroughly, serve with sour cream and crushed tortilla chips. 

Oh my goodness, I think I have to go make a pot now just thinking about how scrumptious this soup is!  You will love it and the greatest thing is that most kids love it, too!  Mine gobble it up in no time ~ there is complete silence around the dinner table with this meal ~ gotta love that!!!

Happy Cooking  :0)