Chicken Tortilla Soup

A friend of mine recently recommended The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup as a good choice for something easy and good for dinner. After checking out her recipe, I made this for dinner tonight, with a few modifications, of course. It was really, really yummy. For gluten-free, use corn tortillas.

Original recipe credit: thepioneerwoman.com

yield: 8 servings

Soup:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 medium/large onion, diced

1/2 cup diced green pepper

1/2 cup diced red pepper

2 jalepeños, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup tomato sauce

8 cups water

2 chicken bouillon cubes (enough for 4 cups) OR use 4 cups water instead of 8 and 4 cups chicken broth

3 cups cooked or canned black beans

2 cups frozen corn

Garnishes (to taste)

crushed tortilla chips or sliced soft tortillas

sour cream

shredded cheese

diced tomatoes or pico

diced avocado

diced onions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt in a small bowl. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet; drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of spice mixture. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove from oven; shred with a fork. Set aside.

3. In a large stockpot, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, green and red peppers, garlic, and jalepeños. Sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in remaining spice mixture and shredded chicken. Add remaining ingredients; stir well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and cook 30-45 minutes or until flavors are well melded. Top each serving with desired garnishes.

*Crock-pot option: place all ingredients in crock-pot (don't cook the chicken in the oven...just place the breasts and all the spices in with everything else). Cook on LOW for 8 hours. Remove breasts, shred with a fork, and return to pot. Garnish as desired.