Cowgirl Kitchen Co.

There are few things better on a cold day than a bowl of homemade tortilla soup. It’s something great to make if any friends or family are feeling under the weather. This is also a recipe that can be altered in order to make it as everyone has different preferences. Don’t like cilantro, leave it out or use some parsley instead. Want to buy a pre cooked chicken rather to shred or buy pre-shredded chicken, go for it. I’ll place alternative directions for that below. Do you like hominy more than corn, cool switch it out. The point is that this is something that you can change up based on personal preferences which is always a good thing.

Chicken Tortilla Soup                             Serves 6-8

• 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, bone in OR 2 cups shredded chicken
• 4 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 Tbs dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 Tbs chili powder
• 3 tsp salt OR to taste
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 Tbs oil
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 1/3 cup celery, sliced
• 1/3 cup carrots, sliced
• 1/3 cup bell pepper, diced
• 2 Tbs Jalapeno pepper, diced or minced
• 1 Tbs garlic, minced
• 2 Tbs tomato paste
• 2-3 cups water
• 1-10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chillies
• 1.5 Tbs lime juice
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1-15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs cilantro
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1 cup shredded cheese

1. Pour stock along with oregano, cumin, chili powder, and 1 tsp salt into a pot, bring to a boil, then add the chicken thighs and lower heat to simmer for 45-50 minutes or when internal temp of chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the bone. When chicken is cooked remove the chicken from the cooking liquid and cover allow to cool so you can remove the bone and shred into bite size pieces.          (******* If using already cooked chicken skip to step 2 and add spices listed above when adding the liquid to the veggies in step 5*******)
2. While chicken is cooking, cut up the onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic.
3. On medium heat, in a large pot, add oil allowing the oil to heat up for 1-2 minutes, add the onion along with 1/2 tsp salt and cook about 3 minutes, add celery and carrots and allow to cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper and jalapeno cook for 1 minute then add the garlic until it becomes fragrant.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and allow it to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Measure the cooking liquid from the chicken and add water to equal 6 cups.
5. Deglaze the pot with the liquid, can of diced tomatoes and green chilies, and lime juice. (*****It would be at this step that you add the spices from above if using precooked chicken****) Bring to a boil while scraping the bottom of the pot to get up all the bottom bits.
6. Once boiling, add the rinsed and drained black beans, thawed corn, and shredded chicken, and cayenne. Bring back to a boil.
7. Add chopped cilantro. Tast and adjust flavorings and seasonings. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.
8. Serve soup with corn tortillas chips, avocado, shredded cheese, and/ or sour cream. sprinkle with left over chopped cilantro (to be fancy)