Chicken Tortilla Soup (based on recipe from the Pioneer Woman, Rhea Drummond)

Recipe Hits and Misses

Recipe Hits: Flavorful, hearty and worth the effort, I found myself mentally doing this recipe to my “will make again” list. You could very easily make this recipe vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and adding more legumes in place of chicken.

Recipe Misses: Well, it was solely my “miss”. I did not add the Masa or the tortillas because I was looking for something, on this day, a little carb “lite”. As you can see from the photo I ended up garnishing with crushed tortilla chips so apparently it would have been just as simple to follow the recipe exactly. I have not included the cornmeal or tortillas in my ingredients list because I did not use them….I will in the future try to, but I am all about transparency. I’ll admit - I was kind of intimidated by this step! I probably missed out and would have had a heartier meal …yup I have soup regrets.

My thoughts

I am sure I am not in the minority when I say after this year it seems slightly unfair to be digging out from under all this snow! Warm water, sandy beaches and fiesta flavors seem to be what I am thinking about and short of a plane ticket to paradise, this soup satisfied my summer cravings better than well, another kind of soup. In a spirit of transparency I have been working on doing a bunch of projects so I am writing this post a few weeks after I actually cooked this soup and I have made some soup since, actually yesterday, but I am actually hungry thinking of how good this was! In recent years I have not had resources to satiate my travel bug, but eating foods from other places has fed my soul and lit in me a determination to tastefully eat myself around the world when I am flush and well…vaccinated.

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

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

One 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles, such as Rotel

5 cups low-sodium chicken broth *or vegetable broth for vegetarian modifications

3 cups hot water

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Two 15-ounce cans black beans, drained *plus additional beans if you are omitting the chicken

Plan of Attack

Preheat the oven to 380 Degrees

Mix your cumin, tsp of chili powder (Mexican), garlic powder, salt and pepper. Reserve some of the spice mixture for later.

Drizzle the chicken breasts with olive oil and cover them with this spice rub mixture. Cook until they are cooked through, about 15-22 minutes, depending on your oven. I find my oven runs very hot, and it’s super tiny so it gets hot more quickly than your average oven of the same age. Follow your gut- you know your oven so cook until it’s done.

Prep your chicken

Prepping and cooking the chicken before adding to soup means it is flavorful and easily shredded

Some thoughts to comfort you - you are shredding the chicken so cutting it open to see it’s doneness is totally ok and also If it gets a little over done it’s not the end of the world because you are submerging it in the chicken broth after it i Over done chicken is better than a stomach ache, so I always err on the side of “definitely done” when cooking my breasts in the oven.

Adios boring soup…

Flavorful bright flavors here we come! Adding jalapeños and sweet bell peppers makes this soup flavorful and spicy, but in a comforting way. Summer flavors in the middle of this cold winter? YES PLEASE!

Dice your onions, peppers, jalapeños (if you’re using) and garlic cloves. Add olive oil to your deep bottomed pot and add the onions. When they become aromatic, add the peppers and garlic. Add the remaining spice mixture directly to the vegetables, cook for 5-6 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients except the Masa and tortilla strips (if you’re following the source recipe exactly. Cook for 25 minutes (or so) on medium low.

Shred your chicken

While the soup cooks, shred the chicken. Add it when the soup has completely integrated, cook for 2-3 minutes, garnish and serve hot.