Tortilla Soup, Yum

Made Tortilla soup for dinner last night. It was really tasty and I had all of the ingredients on hand.

One thing I’ve started doing is baking an entire bag of chicken in a glass pyrex dish with some salt and pepper, shredding it, and then freezing it in 2 cup increments. It’s a real time saver for dishes like this or even enchiladas, or burritos, or chili.

Ingredients: (the list looks long, but its really pretty simple.)

• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 TBLS Olive Oil
• 1 TBLS Cumin
• 1/2 TBLS Chili Powder
• 1/2 TBLS Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Onion, diced
• 1 green gell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 can (10 Oz. Can)  diced tomatoes
• 1 small can diced green chiles
• 1 container, 32 ounces, Chicken Stock
• 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1-2 cups hot water (optional)
• 2 cans white beans, drained, (15 oz cans)
• 1/4 cup cornmeal mixed with water
• 1 cup tortilla chips

Extras: avocado, pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese, cilantro, chunky pico de gallo

Directions:

1. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. (I am dreaming about one of those Le Crueset pots, right about now. Hint. Hint) Add in onion and bell peppers. Stir it up to sauté it a bit.

2. Sprinkle in your spices. Stir them up with your veggies.

3. Add shredded chicken and stir some more.

4. Dump in diced tomatoes and can of green chilies, chicken stock, tomato paste, and white beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, uncovered, and stirring occasionally.

5. After about 30 minutes mix cornmeal with a small amount of water and pour into soup, let simmer for another 20- 30 minutes or so.

6. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.

7.Once in bowls top with tortilla chips, avocado slices, and pepper jack cheese. Cilantro would be yummy too,  or just about any other “spanish” style topping you can come up with. I’m thinking sour cream or pico de gallo too.

~mrs. dunbar