Tortilla Chicken Soup

My kids were excitedly counting down the days until Christmas this morning and when they blurted out 10 days, I thought they were joking!  This month is flying by and I'm hoping that once all of the school parties are done on Friday and the kids have said goodbye to their friends for a couple of weeks, that I'll be ready to welcome them home with open arms and a joyful heart!

My plan is to do some serious baking with them next week...all of their favorites and some of mine!  Hopefully I'll be able to share some of those recipes with you too!

Until then, this was one of those spur of the moment soups that took no time at all to whip up.  If you have leftover chicken or if you buy a roasted one from the store, it will make this recipe all the easier!  Oh, I almost forgot that I added a last-minute ingredient into this soup...Butternut squash.  I diced up the squash and added it prior to simmering.  It added a nice hearty-ness to the soup.

Tortilla Chicken Soup {serves 6-8} adapted recipe from here

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-16oz. container grape tomatoes
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large or 2 small shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut in small chunks
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 pkg. frozen corn
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 cups cooked chicken breasts, shredded (great use for leftover chicken)

Garnish with:

• sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• fresh cilantro
• sour cream
• tortilla strips {Recipe below}
• other garnish options: avocado, diced jalapeno

DIRECTIONS:

  Place grape tomatoes and chopped carrots in blender and puree until almost smooth.  In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onions and garlic until soft; about 5 minutes.  Add bell pepper and saute another 5 minutes.  Season with a salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin.  Add chicken stock, tomato and carrot mixture, corn, black beans, chicken, and cilantro.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes.  

**While soup is simmering, if you'd like to make your own tortilla strips you can start now.  Heat 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil in a pot.  Cut 12 corn tortillas into thin strips.  Fry tortillas until golden brown and drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with some kosher salt immediately.  

To serve, ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle some cilantro and cheese, add a dollop of sour cream, and crispy tortilla strips on top.  Enjoy!