Spending time in the kitchen whether chopping vegetables, baking, or cleaning up, means more to me than ever before. It’s the best therapeutic respite from all of the terrible news that we are confronted with these days. Cooking gives me a break from the stress. Making tortilla soup fits the bill for a perfect meal that is a breeze to prepare and it tastes so good. A warm bowl of soup is always so comforting.
Sometimes we don’t use all of the corn tortillas we buy so we freeze them to use later. This is a perfect way to use them up.
I love that everything goes into one pot. Sautéed onion, garlic and a poblano pepper makes the house smell so good, especially when the onions start to brown.
Diced tomatoes are added along with chopped corn tortillas. It may be hard to imagine how this might turn in to a glorious soup but I assure you it will.
I use an immersion blender to puree the soup. It may look a bit plain, but once you add toppings it turns into a beautiful bowl of soup full of color and flavor. Once pureed, roasted chicken breast that has been shredded is added to the soup.
Crushed tortilla chips, diced avocado, lime and cilantro (only for those cilantro lovers) are perfect toppings. The poblano pepper adds a mild heat to the soup but for those who like it hot, a dash or two of your favorite Mexican-style hot sauce adds a bit of zing along with a squeeze of lime juice. You could leave out the avocado and cilantro, but the crushed tortilla chips are a must.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (or regular butter)
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 medium poblano pepper, roughly chopped
- ¾ cup Rotel tomatoes with green chiles (mild)
- 6 white corn tortillas (6-inch) cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 32 ounce carton chicken stock (I use Swanson)
- 32 ounce carton low sodium chicken broth (I use Swanson)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (more to taste)
- 3 cups coarsely shredded roasted chicken breast (I use Costco roasted chicken and shred the breast meat)
- Toppings:
- crushed tortilla chips
- diced avocado
- chopped cilantro
- lime wedges
- Combine olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and poblano pepper. Sauté until onions are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and tortillas and stir to combine with other ingredients for a minute or two.
- Add chili powder and cumin, stirring to coat the vegetables.
- Add chicken broth, chicken stock and salt to the pot, stirring to mix the soup. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 20 minutes on med-low heat until the soup thickens slightly.
- Remove pot from burner. Using an immersion blender on low speed (so the soup doesn't splatter) puree the soup until it is smooth. Add the chicken to the soup.
- Serve with crushed tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro and lime.
