Chicken Tortilla Soup

Fall has arrived! So has the season of soup! My kids love homemade soup. And so do I.

This week we decided to make Chicken Tortilla Soup. I know you will love it too.

(*Tip: I prefer dried beans over canned beans. I like it so much better. But you can do either. Soak dried pinto beans overnight in a crock pot on low setting. Add a handful of salt. If you don't want to use soaked beans, you can use canned. If you choose to use soaked beans (which is amazing) rinse and drains beans before adding to stock pot.)

Ingredients:

· 2 Chicken Breasts

· 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

· 5 Tablespoons of Tex-Mex Seasoning

· 1/2 teaspoon Salt

· 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

· 1 cup Diced Onion

· 1/4 cup Diced Green Bell Pepper

· 1/2 Medium Onion chopped

· 3 cloves Garlic, Minced

· 1 can (14 oz.) of diced tomatoes

· 1 can (4 oz) green chili's

· 32 ounces Chicken Stock

· 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

· 1 teaspoon Ground Chipotle Pepper (optional)

· 4 cups Hot Water

· 2 lbs (1 bag) of Pinto Beans Soaked* (you can use canned black beans or a mixture)

· 3 Tablespoons Cornmeal

· 5 Corn Tortillas (cut like a pizza)

Optional Garnishes

· Greek Yogurt

· Cilantro

· Mexican Cheese Blend or Cotija Cheese (my preference)

· Avocado

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on raw chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of Tex-Mex seasoning (if you don't have tex-mex than you can make a rub of cumin, onion powder, chili powder and salt) and massage on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is done. Turn oven down to 200°.

Meanwhile chop 1 green pepper, 1/2 onion, minced garlic and mix with 1 can of corn and remaining seasoning. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a stock pot. Sauté vegetables and seasoning (including chipotle, this adds a little heat but also a great smoky flavor) in the stock pot until vegetables start to soften. With two forks shred cooked chicken breasts and add to pot.

Pour in diced tomatoes, chilis, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and pinto beans. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup and then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Taste. If you need more flavor add additional salt and one or more of the following chili for spice, chipotle for smoke and garlic or onion powder if needed.

Let soup sit for around 20 minutes. In the meantime, crisp the corn tortilla strips in low oven (200°) until crisp. Chop garnishes like avocado, cilantro red onion, etc.

Garnish with greek yogurt (instead of sour cream), chopped vegetables, grated mexican blend cheese or cotija cheese.

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