Recipe #1

Tortilla Soup

This recipe was originally given to me by one of my best friend's, Leah Cox who got it from her mother!  It was perfect and delicious as is, but I took it and put my own twist on it by adding new ingredients that I thought would compliment it - and I was really happy with the finished product! Let me know what you all think!

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into large chunks)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion chopped up

3 cloves of garlic minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons of dried parsley

2 boxes of chicken broth

2 cans of corn (drained)

2 cans of black beans (drained)

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can of condensed tomato soup

The juice of 2 lemons

1 jar of medium salsa (I like Newmans)

8 oz container of plain yogurt

Hot sauce

Garlic salt (a few shakes)

Salt to taste (quite a bit!!)

Pepper to taste

Avocado chunks

Grated sharp cheddar

Fresh cilantro finely chopped

Lemon slices
Fried tortilla strips (cut up tortilla into little strips and fry up in olive oil. Drain on paper towels)

Directions: 

In a large soup pot heat up the olive oil...when hot add the onion and garlic, chicken, cumin, chili powder, parsley, garlic salt and some salt and pepper.  Cook until chicken is browned. Add chicken broth, corn, black beans, salsa, lemon juice, few shakes of hot sauce, tomato soup, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.  Fish the chicken pieces out of soup and allow to cool slightly. Then shred the chicken and add back to soup. Add the plain yogurt and stir until dissolved into soup. Add salt and pepper to taste (quite a bit of salt). You can also add more cumin and chili powder to taste if you want more of that flavor.  Let simmer for an hour (but you don’t have to wait that long, 20 minutes would be enough but the longer it simmers the more the flavors meld together!)

Serve in bowl with shredded sharp cheddar, avocado, lemon slices, cilantro, and tortilla strips on top!

Bon appétit,

Ms. jamie lee

xoxo