Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 can corn
chopped jalapeno peppers to taste
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I at least double this, but we LOVE cilantro!)
2 chicken breasts cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
In medium stock pot heat oil over medium heat. Cook chicken pieces and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add beans, corn, jalapenos, and cilantro to pot. Simmer for 10 minutes, or on low until ready to serve.
Serve with crushed tortilla chips, avocado, grated cheese, sour cream and chopped green onion.
*Kitchen Notes…
Now, you can either add the beans, corn, etc to the soup mixture as is, OR if you are like us and don’t like the texture of biting into so many black beans and corn you can do this…
Throw the corn, beans, and some of the soup mixture into a blender and puree until fairly smooth. That way you get all the goodness and flavour without the dry bean texture. You could do this with just the beans if you wanted, I throw the corn in as well because Jon doesn’t enjoy whole kernels in his soup.
Another option is to cook the chicken breasts first in the oven and then dice or shred the chicken and add to the soup partway through. I kind of prefer this method for more tender chicken, but in a hurry I will also follow the recipe.
We often make our own tortilla chips for the topping by cutting up tortillas into very small strips, tossing them in a tiny bit of italian dressing and baking them until just crisp (have to watch though, they brown fast!).
