Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

I’m a  soup-a-holic during the winter months but the go-to chili and chicken noodle soup recipes can get a bit boring after awhile. So last week I thought I would try my hand at a Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe and it was AWESOME. (Although I must say I was a bit embarrassed that I didn’t know what “hominy” was and looked a little ridiculous in Hyvee searching on my Blackberry for a hint! Sheesh.)

Here’s the modified recipe I used:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (48 ounce) “box” chicken broth
• 1  cups water (if you need it)
• Juice of a lime
• 1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
• 1 cup white hominy
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
• crushed tortilla chips (not-optional!)
• sliced avocado (optional)
• shredded Monterey Jack cheese (not-optional!)
• chopped green onions (optional)

Directions

1. Cook your chicken first and dice into large chunks, set aside.
2. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro. Simmer for 1 hour.
4. Before your ready to serve, stir in cooked chicken and simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, hit it with lime juice and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.