Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love sweater weather, the air is crisp, the clothes are comfortable and soft and most importantly the food is warm, hearty and delicious. Let me just say, I love, love, LOVE Chicken Tortilla Soup. I think that this version of the soup is my favorite. It's still hearty and oh-so comforting, but there is an element of tarty freshness that sets it apart. My favorite part of this meal is, after one spoonful Jim said, "I think this is my second favorite thing you've ever made", pizza is his first, there's no changing that, it will always be pizza for him, I've accepted it.

Serves 4 - 6 

First you will need one large diced red bell pepper, 1/2 of an onion (diced), and 2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh garlic.

Second, you will need to cube 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a dutch oven and set on stove at medium/high heat.

Once the oil is hot add in the onions. Stir and cook until soft.

Add in the fresh garlic and cook for another minute, stirring frequently.

Add in 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground cayenne pepper and ground cumin powder. Stir to combine.

Add in the cubed chicken and stir well to coat chicken with spices.

Turn heat to medium and cook.

Cook until all juices have evaporated and chicken has cooked through and browned.

Using a slotted spoon, place chicken in a dish for later use.

You want to retain the remaining juices and flavor in the stockpot.

It'll look something like this.

Turn heat to medium high, add in the peppers and using a spoon stir to loosen brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

All the brown bits should come right up, it doesn't even look like the same pan!

Meanwhile, rinse and drain one can of black beans.

Add the black beans to the pot and stir to combine. Cook for about one minute, stirring often.

Next, cut open one can of fire roasted tomatoes.

Add the tomatoes to the pot and combine with other ingredients. Cook for a couple of minutes.

DELISH!

Add in the cooked chicken and stir.

Next, add in 48 ounces of chicken stock and stir.

Add salt to taste and turn heat to medium/high.

Bring soup to a boil, then turn to medium/low and simmer while you prepare the toppings (about 15 minutes).

Finely dice one Roma tomato and place in a small mixing bowl or container.

Dice 1/2 of a large onion and add that to the tomatoes.

Finely dice one jalapeño pepper and add with other ingredients.

Chop a 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro. Split the chopped cilantro into two piles, add one half to the onions & tomatoes, reserve the other half for later.

Squeeze in the juice of 2 ripe limes and stir.

Place in refrigerator to cool a little.

Meanwhile cut about 4 corn tortillas into 1 inch long strips.

In a small pan add one tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat on medium/high.

Add in a handful of your tortilla strips, in one layer and brown.

Once they are brown and crispy remove from the pan and place in a dish lined with paper.

Meanwhile your soup should be bubbly and delicious by now.

Add in the reserved cilantro and stir. Remove from heat.

Garnish with freshly grated mozzarella cheese (about a teaspoon per serving), then the tortilla chips, then the tomato mixture, a couple slices of fresh avocado and for more of a tangy flavor squeeze in one fresh lime wedge. YUM! 

'Nuff said.

PS- I realize I have not been adding printable recipes, or even summarizing the recipes at the bottom of my posts (recently). I'm still trying to find a proper outlet for that and promise to add in a summarized list to the recipes missing them as I find time. But honestly by the time I'm done cooking and blogging I'm ready for a glass of wine and some RR before I do it all over again tomorrow. Please forgive me :)

Copy and paste people, it's genius!