Chicken tortilla soup for dinner tonight? or how about before a snazzy plate of tacos? Don't mind if I do! I am SO HAPPY it's the weekend. I desperately need a couple days to not wake up in the early hours of the morning and attempt to be a human being. I've been so tired every day this week that there was only one day I did not take a nap when I got home. ย And that was because that day I went to Ikea after work and bought myself the snazzy dresser I've been wanting for years now (they're having an IKEA family sale until the 23rd, get it).
Dan has been asking me for weeks if I had picked one out yet because apparently, my clothes falling over the floor in the closet are not helpful when he's trying to find his own clothes. Success! Now we just have to put it together...It's currently sitting in pieces all over the living room floor but I'll figure it out later...because it's the WEEKEND! And it's absolutely gorgeous out. The sun is out, it's above 70...so that obviously means soup time right?? Ah well, what can you do? How about a lighter, yet somehow filling, easier on the waistline Chicken Tortilla Soup? WITH homemade tortilla strips?? Yes?
I thought so.
Every Thanksgiving, my dad makes a fresh pot of fragrant vegetarian tortilla soup, complete with rehydrated dried chiles and homemade tortilla strips. Even with that feast of turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce, my favorite part of the whole day is that tortilla soup appetizer. I look forward to it ALL year long. It manages to be so light, flavorful, and robust all the same time. I have to admit though, sometimes I just can't wait all year. Granted, my Chicken Tortilla Soup is a bit more geared towards the everyday (no rehydrated chilis but plenty of fresh ones to make up for it), and to take it up a notch, I've added some chicken into the mix to make it a truly filling, dinner soup.
I noticed a lot of recipes online for Chicken Tortilla Soup usually just sayย "cooked chicken" in the ingredients list. I'm not generally one of those people that just has a ton of leftover chicken. It's usually been used for some specific purpose and is seasoned accordingly. SO just in case you're like me, I've included in the recipe how to start from scratch with raw chicken breast and go from there. That isn't to say you can'tย use already cooked chicken. If you have extra chicken from a previous meal Chicken Tortilla Soup is a great way to use it up!
Concerned about the heat of the soup? Not to worry. There is plenty ofย possibleย heat, in the form of anaheim chili and jalapeรฑo seeds. Ergo, you can have this dish as mild or hot as you like! Really looking for some heat? Don't remove all of the seeds from the chilis and you'll have plenty of spicy flavor. Looking for a little more mild? Remove most, if not all, of the seeds and you're good to go. Just to make sure, the seeds are all you'll want to mess with. Make sure to include both chilis, weither or not you want to use the seeds. A lot of the base flavor of Chicken Tortilla Soup comes from those delectable peppers.
OK y'all. That back porch is calling my name, gotta get some vitamin D while I can! Recipe coming right up....
Chicken Tortilla Soup with Homemade Tortilla Strips
- Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar
- 1 white onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Anaheim chile, diced (seeds removed or keep as many as desired for heat)
- ยฝ Jalapeรฑo chile, minced (again seeds removed or keep as many as desired for heat)
- 3 cups rainbow chard, roughly chopped
- 28 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ยฝ teaspoon ground Mexican oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh minced Cilantro, sliced avocado, sliced green onion to garnish
For the Tortilla Strips
- 10 corn tortillas, sliced into 2 inch strips
- 2 cups canola oil, or enough oil to cover up to a ยผ inch of your skillet
- Coarse salt
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Make the Tortilla Strips: Pour canola oil into a frying pan or skillet and turn heat to medium. Test the oil by flicking water on it. If it sizzles, add about half of the tortilla strips (If it splatters, turn heat down a little bit).Stirring frequently to avoid burning, cook strips until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove to a paper towel and sprinkle with coarse salt. Repeat with the second half of your tortilla strips. Set aside to cool.
- Pat chicken breasts dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 8 minutes. Flip chicken and cover the pot. Cook another 8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through (165หF). Remove from skillet and shred with 2 forks. Set aside.
- Pour red wine into the pot, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, cooking for 1 minute.
- Add onion and chilis, cook 5 minutes until softened, stirring frequently.
- Add garlic and rainbow chard, cook 2 minutes until just softened.
- Stir in tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, chicken broth, and shredded chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Let cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 20 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and garnish with cilantro, green onion, avocado, fresh ground black pepper, and tortilla chips.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
Rick Ray says
Your recipes are always so interesting and beautiful too. As I've said for years, you feast with your eyes first and your presentations always meet that standard. I would like to know what inspires you every week. Do ideas just pop into your head or what. Keep up the great recipes.