Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's a crisp, rainy Fall day in Southern California.  That means it's finally time to bust out the big stockpot and fire up some of my favorite soup recipes!  I've been waiting patiently to make my family's favorite soup, Chicken Tortilla.  It's loaded with veggies, packed with flavor and reheats well the next couple of days.  This recipe will make a large stockpot full.  Perfect for an evening dinner and leftovers for the next couple of days.  Freezes really well for meals you may make in advance.  I list Organic veggies below, but you can use regular veggies if that's what you prefer. 

 

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken breast (rinsed)

2 Quarts Chicken Broth (I like to use Organic, low sodium chicken broth)

Water

Garlic Salt (or Season Salt), to taste

1-2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or crushed

3-4  Organic zucchini, chopped into larger bite size pieces

3-4 Organic yellow squash, chopped into larger bite size pieces

1 28oz can of Organic diced tomatoes 

1 pkg of frozen bell peppers (I get the bag from Trader Joe's)

6 stalks of Organic celery (chopped)

6 Organic carrots, chopped (don't need to peel, just rinse them off)

1-2 cups of Organic frozen sweet corn

Chili Powder, to taste (probably 1-2 good heaping tablespoons)

Garlic Powder, to taste (probably 1-2 good heaping tablespoons)

Ground Cumin, to taste (probably 1-2 good heaping tablespoons)

16 corn tortillas, chopped into small pieces

Tortilla Strips

Shredded Cheese

Sour Cream

Avocado

 

Directions

1. In a large stockpot, boil chicken on a medium/high heat in the broth and water.  Make sure chicken is completely covered with liquid.  Add salt, onions and garlic.  Boil chicken until almost tender. (Time will depend on size of chicken breasts and if they are frozen or not, but probably about an hour).

2.  Add zucchini, squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, carrots, corn and seasonings.  Reduce heat to medium/low.  Cook until all vegetables are tender (probably about another hour).  Remove chicken from the pot and cut into bite size pieces (or shred).  Return cut chicken to pot. 

3.  Add chopped up tortillas and continue cooking for another 15 minutes (or until tortillas have dissolved).  Tortillas will create a richer flavor.

4.  Taste your broth, make sure it's seasoned to your liking. 

5.  Serve with any of the following toppings: tortilla strips, shredded cheese, sour cream and/or avocado.

 

Variation - You could make this in a crockpot and let it cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Add tortillas the last hour to dissolve.  May need to reduce quantities of vegetables depending on how big your crockpot is.

 

I hope you and your family enjoy this perfect Fall soup as much as we do.  :-)  Happy Eating!