Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Chicken Tortilla Soup


Sometimes schedules are meant to be thrown out the window and ignored, and with an unexpected visit from my mom and dad a couple of days ago, tossing our schedule is exactly what we did.  What a perfect choice we made!  A boring afternoon of errands was turned into a much more enjoyable afternoon of catching up, card games and Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Almost one of those "Norman Rockwell" moments, our family sat around the table playing Hearts and laughing at Liv's very sad face as she received the Queen of Spades for no less than the third time in a row.  Luckily, a special weekend soda returned her smile and we were off for a game of Sequence.  Liv and mom my proved that girls are most definitely winners as they beat my husband and dad time and again.  Contrary to the male popular opinion, no... they did not cheat!

Chopping onions and sautéing chicken I enjoyed the banter and laughter of my family.  Filled with aromatic spices, black beans and a hearty broth the soup is thickened perfectly with corn tortillas and then topped with my favorite goodies - sour cream, avocado, cilantro and a bright squeeze of lime.  Our bodies warmed by the soup and our hearts warmed with an afternoon of simply being together, we decided that soup is indeed good food.



Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 boneless breasts of chicken, cooked and shredded
1 Tbs oil
2 -3 corn tortillas, broken into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeño finely diced (optional)
3/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 - 3 cups chicken broth
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
water to cover
diced avocado
sour cream
cheese (pepper jack, cheddar or any mexican melting cheeses)
green onions
cilantro
lime quarters
broken tortilla chips

Heat oil over medium/medium low heat in a large stock pot, add tortillas and onion.  Sauté for a few minutes and add the jalapeño, stirring frequently.  Add the garlic and spices (chili powder, cumin and smoked paprika), and cook for about a minute or until aromatic, stirring often.  Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and beans.  Add water to cover.  Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes and add the chicken.  Simmer 10 - 15 minutes more, or longer if desired adding water as necessary.  Salt if desired.


When ready to serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with your favorite toppings, a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of crushed tortilla chips!

We are submitting this soup to Kahakai Kitchen's Souper Sundays!!
SouperSundays

45 comments:

  1. I love Chicken Tortilla soup and this looks delicious! Will definitely be trying it very soon.

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  2. Mmmmm! Love a spicy tortilla soup! Your photo makes all the colors and flavors pop right off the computer screen! Excellent job in the kitchen and behind the camera!

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  3. I have been thinking about making tortilla soup for a week! I guess I was just waiting for your post! I love sequence!

    ceecee

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  4. Beautiful photos! That bowl looks sooo good ... I love the crunch of the tortillas in soup.

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  5. Soup looks great, Im sure it is good food. I like that avocado on top.. :)

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  6. Oh, man! This sounds wonderful! The flavors are exactly what I need to warm up! Great job!

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  7. I love a good tortilla soup, and this one fits the bill. I've got a friend who spent two months in Mexico and couldn't believe I'd buy Rick Bayless's 'Mexican Kitchen' since it didn't have a recipe for this classic.
    I'm passing this on to her... Thanks!

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  8. This is one of my favorite soups. Thanks for sharing your version!

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  9. That looks amazing and so delish! Great pics, thx for sharing!

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  10. What a great post. I loved imagining you and your family enjoying both a bowl of soup and each others laughter. Thank you for sharing this delicious soup with me. I hope that tomorrow brings you joy!

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  11. This is such a great description of spending quality time with your family! I love all of your toppings on the soup...they are definitely the best part of chicken tortilla soup!

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  12. What a wonderfully delicious soup! This is definitely going on my menu next week. Love your photos too. It's no fun getting the Queen of Spades three times in a row. I imagine her face was the same as Ashleigh's face when she got bankrupt for at least the third time in a row when we were playing Wheel of Fortune.

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  13. Oh, my this looks incredibly delicious...no one else in the family is crazy about avocados, so I'd get a whole one for my own personal garnish...YUM!

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  14. Great looking soup! I wish I had seen this before I made dinner! I have been looking for a tortilla soup recipe.

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  15. There is nothing better than cooking in the kitchen when you're family is there, keeping you company. This soup looks delicious!

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  16. Your soup looks just divine. This is one of my favorite soups. The recipe you did looks simple and packed with flavor. Great photos!!

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  17. Love these photos...and as I hail from San An, you know that I love tortilla soup. =)

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  18. What a gorgeous version of chicken tortilla soup! I could eat this bowlful after bowlful. It sounds as though you had a good visit with your family.

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  19. I love this recipe Kim, we will try this very soon!

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  20. I adore this kind of soup. The Avocado is such a nice rich flavor to add in each bite. Yum!

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  21. easy & full of flavors; it's a good way to add taste to chicken breast; thanks for sharing.

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  22. soup looks comforting! it is snowing out here and a soup like that should be perfect :)

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  23. Oh that sounds like such a fun impromptu visit! And the soup looks amazing, I think I will try to make it this weekend!

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  24. This soup looks as good as your "poblanos and beer chili", which I made for the third time yesterday. Of the chili, one friend said; "it was the best chili I ever had, hands down". Will try this one soon!

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  25. Isn't it amzing what memories and warm fuzzies you get, when cooking with your family! Your soup looks so good, (except for the beans), but I love the avocado on top.

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  26. This looks alot like my favorite recipe! Koodos to you for not putting bell peppers (gag) in your tortilla soup! =)
    Beautiful pic also!

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  27. I've made some killer tortilla soup in the crock pot before; being a tex-mex fan myself I should really break out the recipe again. I'm a fan of food you can prepare and leave until they're done, so unlike yours it requires sauteeing/simmering etc. Perhaps I should try making both and compare their final flavors.

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  28. That always seems to happen when family is in town, all the schedules just go out the window! Your soup looks so very good, this is one of my favorite kinds of soups. I am a big mexican food fan and having it in a soup form makes me very very happy. All your yummy toppings make it SUPER tempting too, thank goodness it is lunchtime haha :-)

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  29. That sounds like a very heart warming day! I can just picture that poor sad face...I'm glad everyone ended up having an incredible time!

    I do envy you. No matter what I cannot make soup look good like you can. I've never ever made or even had chicken tortilla soup but this looks amazing. Thank you for sharing this!

    Dionne
    X O X O

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  30. Schedules are meant to be broken on the weekends, especially when you have the opportunity to make great memories with your family. I make a cheesy tortilla soup, but yours looks wonderful (and healthier)!

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  31. I've been looking for a new soup recipe... found it! This looks amazing!

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  32. Oh this sounds amazing - hot and cold, salty and spicy, cheesey and citrusy. What a great meal for sharing.

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  33. Ooh, a comment right after the OTHER Hester! Well, I must agree that this is an excellent dish to have :-) I always love your toppings; they make the dish so festive and all the more tasty! GIRL POWER!

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  34. Gorgeous soup--chicken tortilla soup is always such a comfort food dish. Let me know if you want to link it to Souper Sundays and put it in this week's round up. ;-)

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  35. Your story of creating the soup was [to me] more magical than the recipe itself! I love hearing about people creating warmth in their kitchen. Eating food made from love is the BEST kinda food there is.

    Glad you had such an amazing time preparing this meal :)

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  36. Yum! Tortilla soup is my absolute favorite...and your version sounds delicious! Has me craving a big pot. I'm currently on a quest to try (literally and through others) as many versions of TS as possible, I'd love it if you'd join me in my quest and link it up here:http://www.girlichef.com/2010/05/tortilla-soup-challenge-please-join-me.html ...hope to see you there :) ~Heather

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  37. Holy YUM! I love Chicken Tortilla Soup...never had it w/ avocado - I have to try this- of course I am getting on a plane in 24 hours and will be gone for the week - but when I get back BOOOYAH! Love the pic as well!

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  38. Yay Kim! Thanks so much for adding it :) There should be another roundup coming up w/in the next few weeks.

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  39. This looks perfect, not tongue-burning hot but with just a little kick. It's on my shopping list for next week's soup meal.

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  40. That soup looks amazing garnished with all of those large chunks of avocado!

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  41. Best chicken tortilla soup, ever! Second time making it tonight, yummmmm :)

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  42. Alex... you made my day! Thank you for letting us know you liked it. One of our favorites.

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  43. This looks fabulous, Kim. Look at these colours! Love the idea of catching up 'en famille' around the table playing cards. Precious moments!

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  44. Mmmmm...delicious. The only thing that could make this better would be for it to be a rainy day!

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