Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love tortilla soup! I've actually been craving it all summer, but kept telling myself I needed to wait for fall - or at least until we weren't getting an unbearably hot or sunny day. Well, thanks to Hurricane Ida, we are having heavy rainfalls today along with fall-like temps. I ran out to the store this morning before the rains got too crazy and picked up ingredients for chicken tortilla soup. It really hit the spot for all of us!

Ingredients for the soup:

3 TBSP butter

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 1/2 cups cooked, seasoned chicken*, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 TBSP tomato paste

4 ounces cream cheese

3 cups chicken stock

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 can yellow corn, drained

1 1/2 tsp Knorr chicken bouillon powder

2 TBSP chili powder

1 tsp cumin

For the tortilla stips:

4 corn tortillas, cut into strips

Lard or oil for frying

Suggested toppings: 

Chopped cilantro

Shredded cheddar cheese (or Mexican cheese blend)

Diced avocado

Sliced green onions

Directions: 

1. Melt butter in a large cooking pot or Dutch oven, then add onion and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chopped chicken, diced jalapeno, beans, corn, seasonings, and chicken bouillon powder. Give it a good stir.

2. Add cream cheese, tomato paste, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

3. While soup cooks, prepare tortilla strips. Place lard or oil in a skillet and heat for about 5 minutes. There should be about 1/2 inch of melted fat. Add tortilla strips in a single layer and cook on both sides until lightly browned. You will probably have to cook them in 2-3 batches, but they cook quickly so it won't take long. Move fried tortilla strips to a plate lined with paper towels to cool.

4. Serve soup with fried tortilla strips and other toppings as desired. Enjoy on a cool, rainy fall day.

*NOTE about the chicken. I wanted to buy a rotisserie chicken to use for the soup, but I was at the store too early and they didn't have any ready. Instead, I bought a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and baked them. 

Seasoned Cooked Chicken

To bake chicken breasts for using in recipes like this one that call for cooked chicken, here is how I do it. This makes a total of about 6-7 cups chopped, seasoned chicken. 

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts

4 TBSP butter

1/2 cup dry white wine, like pinot grigio

Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, trim fat off chicken breasts and cut each breast in half (they are usually so big, and cutting them in half helps them to cook faster).

3. Place half of the melted butter in a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Lay the chicken in the melted butter and sprinkle generously with Lawry's seasoned salt and pepper. Turn chicken over, seasoned side down. Pour the white wine over all the chicken breasts. Pour the remaining 2 TBSP melted butter over the chicken. Season with seasoned salt and pepper.

4. Cover tightly with foil and cut a couple of small slits in the middle of the foil to vent. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool, leaving foil on the pan, for about 15 minutes at room temperature. Chop or shred to add to dishes calling for cooked chicken. You can also use the liquid left in the pan for broth in your recipe. It's delicious!