Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

 

Chicken tortilla soup (photo by Vicki)

Middle of the week and something lighter and warm sounded great for dinner.  My inner Chef Ann Burrell was emerging, so I did what any good chef would do. I headed for the store. After all, the mise en place (French for "putting in place") is a biggie for any chef. But before I practiced putting everything in place or prepared to cook, it meant having the ingredients, and quite possibly an idea of what it was you would be putting in place. 

Walking in I take quick mental note of the produce displayed in raised bins across the right hand side of the market. The avocados were ripe, but not too ripe. I chose a couple of the pieces of fruit and placed them in the basket. This brought on the thought of, "Now what does avocado make?" Why, guacamole of course! Guac always reminds me of the wonderful flavors of most Mexican dishes, and there we have it. Taco salad. But again? 

Trying to come up with a meal idea that both Terry and I would enjoy isn't that tough, but ask anyone who has to make dinner choices every night how simple they think the decision is. I wanted something different, something out of the ordinary for us. We just had taco salad about a week ago and I was on a mission to find something outside the box of genres that I typically make. 

The food Gods were looking down on me. I heard angelic praises, a heavenly choir was singing. The heavens opened and a light shone down on me. I was sent a gift. The gift of a dish I had never eaten before. Not one spicy piece of chicken has ever heated my palate. This was the answer. It would be perfect. I know Terry enjoys a spicier food than I typically choose, but I figured I could handle it for one night, just to know what chicken tortilla soup tastes like. Quickly I searched for a recipe on the Internet. 

I followed the recipe fairly closely, but did change up a couple of things. I enjoy turning the original upside down to get that finale just right, in my opinion. We would have some great chicken tortilla soup that night, and wow! Did we ever have some great soup! It was so yummy and was light, chicken-y, spicy, and so very good.

If you would like to try chicken tortilla soup, here is the recipe:

Level: Easy

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

1 small onion, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 jalapenos, finely diced

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

One 14.5 ounce can of fire-roasted tomatoes

One 14.5 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained

3 chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins, boneless and skinless

2 limes, juiced, plus some wedges for garnish if desired

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup of roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

One 8-inch flour tortilla, grilled and cut into thin strips

1 avocado, pitted, sliced

1 cup of Monterrey shredded cheese

Directions: 

1. Dice the jalapenos. Dice the onion. Put in separate bowls and set aside. Cut the limes in half. Squeeze the juice into a bowl and set aside. Slice the avocado. 

2. Slice the tortilla into thin strips. Grill the strips in coconut oil. 

3. In a large saucepan, heat the coconut oil. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. When the onion has softened, add the garlic and jalapenos and cook for another minute. 

4. Pour the chicken broth, tomatoes and beans into the pot bring it to a boil. 

5. When the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat to simmer and add your chicken. Cook the chicken in the stock for about 23 minutes. Once chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot. When cool enough to handle, shred it and set aside. 

6. Add the lime juice and then chopped fresh cilantro to the pot. 

7. When ready to serve, place a mound of shredded chicken into a bowl. Ladle the soup over the chicken and top with a lime wedge, grilled tortilla strips, avocado and the Monterrey shredded cheese.