Here’s a confession. I’ve recently been obsessed with chicken tortilla soup. It began a few weeks ago on a rainy Thursday afternoon when I got the wrong lunch order. I had a craving for chicken noodle soup for lunch and ended up making a detour to pick up some soup at Zoup. The moment I stepped foot into Zoup, I could see an insanely long line serving customers during lunch rush hour. By the time it was my turn to order, I asked for a cup of chicken noodle soup and stepped aside. The person taking my order must have thought I said chicken tortilla soup and placed an order for chicken tortilla soup instead. I didn’t catch the error until I returned back to the office and unpacked my soup. I knew something was off when I smelled a strong scent of cumin and saw strips of tortilla chips sprinkled on top of my soup. The aromatic scent of spices was intoxicating. All it took was one scoop to fall in love. The soup immediately warmed me up. It was just what I needed after trekking outside in the cold rain. The chicken tortilla soup featured a blend of southwest spices, crispy tortilla chips, diced vegetables, and hearty chicken. The soup was so comforting, I went back the very next week and ordered a large bowl of chicken tortilla soup again for lunch. After my second tasting of the soup, I set out to create my own version inspired by the version I had. Over the weekend, I made a very large batch of chicken tortilla soup featuring my own blend of southwest spices, diced onion, peppers, corn, black beans, and diced chicken. I browned the chicken first before moving onto cooking down the onions and peppers until softened. I then added in some water, tomato puree, frozen corn kernels, and cooked black beans. I turned the heat down to medium low and let the soup cook on medium low heat for about another 15 minutes or so. When the soup was done, I ended up with enough soup for about six to eight servings. I ate as much as I could before packing up the rest of the soup into a few containers to bring to work throughout the upcoming week. This week will be a fairly long week of work for me followed by my final class presentation for my leadership certificate program on Friday. After Friday, I will officially be done with all of the course requirements for the program. A few short weeks later, graduation will take place on campus. It seems like just yesterday I had started the program. Now, we’re being asked to select a class speaker to speak on behalf of our cohort during graduation. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of my leadership classes and will truly miss my teammates and the program. Preparing chicken tortilla soup ahead of time will ensure I have lunch and dinner ready when I need it and prevent me from getting takeout. Outside of work and classes, I’ve been brainstorming ideas for my Thanksgiving dinner with my family coming up in a couple weeks. I’ve planned a menu with ideas from A-I for both the day of Thanksgiving and the day after. Last year, my Thanksgiving dinner menu featured a ton of food for only Kevin and I. This year, I plan to weave in a lot of the same dishes I made last year plus adding a few spins on classics for my family to try. The chicken tortilla soup was the perfect lunch and dinner to help me get through the Thanksgiving planning process.
For the chicken tortilla soup:
· ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
· 2 chicken breasts, diced
· 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
· 1½ teaspoons cumin
· 1½ teaspoons chili powder
· 1½ teaspoons paprika
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 1 onion, diced
· 1 green pepper, diced
· 1 red pepper, diced
· 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
· 3-4 cups water
· ¼ cup tomato puree
· 8 ounces frozen corn kernels
· 1 (15 ounce) can cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
· 6 tortilla chips, broken into pieces
Directions:
1) Heat a large pot on medium heat. Once hot, add the vegetable oil. Add in the diced chicken, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir the chicken to coat in the spices and let the chicken cook for 2-3 minutes until the chicken begins to brown on the edges. Remove the cooked chicken to a bowl.
2) Add in the diced onion, diced green pepper, and diced red pepper. Let the ingredients cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Toss in the chopped tomatoes. Return the cooked chicken back into the pot. Cook for an additional minute.
3) Pour in the water. Fold in the tomato puree. Let all of the contents of the soup cook for 2 minutes. Add in the frozen corn kernels, and rinsed black beans. Turn the heat down to medium low and let the soup simmer for about 15 more minutes.
4) To serve, scoop some soup into a bowl and top with the broken pieces of tortilla chips. Serve with some rolls and lime wedges if desired.
Takeaways: The chicken tortilla soup can be customized with a variety of vegetables. The version I had at Zoup didn’t have corn or black beans, but I found adding both corn and black beans make for a more filling, hearty soup. Feel free to add in other vegetables such as diced carrots and celery to pack in the servings of vegetable in the soup.