Chicken Tortilla Soup and Homemade Tortilla Chips

This is one of my favorite soups and is a twist off the traditional chicken tortilla soup, but I think just as tasty and is great for a chilly day like today(you're lucky if it isn't!). Along with the homemade tortilla chips you'll be dipping away and enjoying the full belly this meal produces.

Oh, and if you are like Joe and myself you will make a very large batch of the tortilla chips! They are so yummy and you can dip them in most anything if you have leftovers (haha, good luck with that!). Some ideas for leftover chip dips: hummus, spinach and artichoke, queso, salsa and my favorite strawberry salsa(but you will have to wait for this recipe because I am sharing it with a different dish!)

Shopping List:

1) Chicken Tenderloins

2) Tomato puree (large 13oz can)

3) Diced tomato (130z can)

4) Corn (frozen or canned)

5) Black beans (1 can)

6) Pinto beans or Kidney beans (1 can)

7) Fresh spinach

8) Tortillas (I am using spinach ones, but you can use any sort of flour or corn tortilla you want)

9) Taco seasoning

10) Cumin

11) 2 Cloves of garlic

12) Vegetable Oil

13) Chicken Broth (or you can use water)

Optional:

Cheese

Sour Cream


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This meal can be made in two ways. One is on the stove the night of and the other is in a crockpot the day of. It is your choice. With the stove it will need about 30 minutes to cook and the crockpot set it to low and 8-6 hours.

Now this is one thing that I do that does not have to be done, but I believe makes the soup better. The night before making it while cooking dinner I put about 4 chicken tenderloins in a pot, sprinkle some taco seasoning over them and then pour tomato puree over it. I cover it, let it come to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes. I then let the pot cool and put it in the fridge. This way when I take the pot out the next day the chicken basically falls apart into shredded chicken (use a fork to separate) and is filled with the the yummy tastes of the seasoning and tomato like the chicken at a Mexican restaurant. Now if you do not want to do this you can just cut up the 4 tenderloins and brown them first in a skillet or add them to the soup and let fully cook in the soup.

We will pretend that you like my idea and to begin:

I begin by pouring my shredded chicken and tomato puree into my crockpot and to this I add my black bean, pinto beans (drain and rinse the beans!), can of diced tomatoes, corn (if using a can, a whole can, if using frozen about a cup and a half), one cup chicken broth or water, about 2 tablespoons of cumin, 2 cloves of garlic (to add use the zester side of your grater to make it fine so now one gets a chunk of garlic). You can add a dash of salt and pepper as well.

In my crockpot I let this cook all day on low. Then about 10 minutes before we eat I will add about two cup fresh spinach and stir it in. (this way the spinach won't be wilted and still be green and pretty).

To the top of this you can add grated cheese or sour cream or both.

Now for the Tortilla chips you will need to start them probably right before you add the spinach. It takes about 10 minutes to bake them and they are a cinch to throw in the oven.

Make sure you have a preheated oven that is set at 400. Take your tortillas and lightly brush both sides with vegetable oil (or if using corn tortillas you can do corn oil). Then cut them like you would a pizza into triangles, or you can even do strips if you would prefer rectangular strips to go on top of the soup (but don't make them too skinny or they will burn at this temperature).

Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray and place tortillas on it. Bake for about 10-12 minutes(however, I would keep an eye on them, they can burn easily) you will know they are down with their edges start curling and they are browning. Sprinkle with salt or even cumin if desired.

Enjoy!