Chicken Tortilla Soup

Last year I got a hankering for chicken tortilla soup.  Lacking a favorite recipe I took to the interweb and googled it.  I found multiple recipes, and finally settled on one.  I made minimal changes and this has turned into one of my favorites.  This is the perfect season for soup so read on.

Ingredients:

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1 can beans (I prefer black beans)

chicken broth - I use one of those 32 oz cartons

cooked chicken

diced onion

garlic

1/3 cup grits

1 can diced chiles

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp oregano

grated cheese

tortilla chips

sliced avocado

sour cream (optional)

diced green onion

 Chop onion and garlic and saute in olive oil.

You may also use a couple of tsp of bottled grated garlic - whichever floats your boat.

Add the diced chiles.  The original recipe called for the small can of diced chiles.  I prefer the large can.  Just toss the whole thing in there, juice and all.

Ooops..forgot to include the spices in the picture of ingredients.  My darling daughter got this Chili at a spice shop near her apartment in (sadly) another city.  Sadly because my daughter is adorable AND the spice store smells divine. 

I like to add the spice to the sauted onion, garlic and chiles mixture.  I love the way the colors look in the pot.

While your mixture is cooking, open and drain all of the remaining canned items: beans, corn and tomatoes.  You can add the tomatoes without draining if you prefer.  Again, I like the blend of colors with all three ingredients in the colander.

Add your chicken to the mixture.  I vary the method I use for the chicken based on what I have on hand and what I'm going to use for that pot of soup.  If I have leftover chicken from another meal I'll use that.  Sometimes I chop a chicken breast into small piece and cook that up and toss it in the soup.  Or you can simmer some chicken in some of the broth, cool and shred it for the soup.  Then you can add the chicken stock into the soup so it doesn't go to waste.  If you choose this method, simmer the chicken on low so it doesn't become too rubbery.

To all this add 1/3 cup of grits.  The original recipe called for hominy.  Being a Southern girl I always have grits on hand, but rarely have hominy on hand, so I made the substitution.  One advantage is that this will thicken the soup making it more like a stew.  If you prefer the hominy, use a full cup.

Add the drained corn, beans and tomatoes.



Add the broth and let the soup simmer for a short time.  The grits will begin to absorb some of the liquid, so add more broth if you need to.  Stir periodically so the grits don't cook onto the bottom of the pot.

The finished product. Actually this soup is just a vehicle for all the fun stuff you can put in it.  Serve small bowls of tortillas, grated cheese, chopped or sliced avocado, and chopped green onions for the toppings.  If you like you can also add a dollop of sour cream.  There's plenty of winter left so get cooking!