Chicken Tortilla Soup

In an effort to make moist and delicious chicken breasts for this soup, I marinade the chicken the night before in the mixture above. Place the Greek yogurt in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken breasts. Add the finely chopped onion and cilantro. Mix in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, and salt. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and coat with the yogurt mixture. Refrigerate overnight.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

In a large pot over medium heat, drizzle 2 T of oil. Add chicken and cook for roughly five minutes or until lightly browned. I cook my chicken in three batches to ensure over-crowding doesn’t occur—since the chicken will cook more thoroughly in the soup, don’t worry about the chicken temperature and being cooked completely through at this time. Set the chicken aside and sauté the onion with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Add more oil if needed. After three minutes, add the undrained can of green chilies and stir. Add both cans of tomatoes with liquid and all. Pour in your chicken broth. Add the drained cans of black beans along with the frozen corn. Stir in the garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Let the soup continue to cook for 20-25 minutes before adding the chopped bell pepper and jalapeno. Once the peppers have been added, I let the soup simmer for another half hour or so…the longer it sits, the merrier the flavors. Note: in my household, we aren’t heavy salt eaters—my belief is that you can always add, but never take away. You know your household best, so add what you need! Serve the soup with the bounty of toppings listed above.

‍Tortilla Strips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, whisk the oil, salt, cumin, and chili powder together. Cut your tortillas into strips: I cut 12 columns and four rows. Add your tortilla strips to your oil mixture and evenly coat your strips. Linea baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread an even layer of the tortilla strips across the pan. Bake 10-15 minutes or until crisp. NOTE: I walked away and ruined my tortilla strips on two occasions, there is a fine line between crisp and burnt. I used super soft tortillas, I am sure regular corn tortillas would work, but they would most likely require less time in the oven.

‍Chipotle cream

Mash 3-4 peppers with a fork and mix into the cream cheese. Add more if you like things spicy. This mixture is so simple, but it makes a delicious difference.

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