There are a lot of recipes online for chicken tortilla soup, but wanted to share our version, which we eat often because it's delicious, economical, and super easy.
We usually substitute home-canned tomatoes for cans of Ro-Tel, but the basic ingredients are this:
2 chicken breasts
2 cans (14 oz) Ro-tel (you can also use two cans diced tomatoes if you don't like Ro-tel)
1 can black beans
2 cups frozen corn (or canned, or fresh, but probably not creamed)
Chili powder
Cumin
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Optional items: Cilantro (dry or fresh); Tortilla chips for garnish.
How we make it: At night, before going to bed, put the chicken in crock-pot and cover with water by 1 to 2 inches. In the morning the chicken can be shredded with a fork; then add both cans of tomatoes and the black beans (drained). Add corn. Add spices. I'm bad about measuring spices, but a reasonable starting place is 2 tsp each of Chili powder, cumin and garlic powder; 1 Tbs salt; and a few dashes of pepper.(Since we often garnish with salty tortilla chips, we often reduce the amount of salt.) Stir all the ingredients together and set crock pot for desired time; we usually do 8 hours, so that it's waiting and ready for supper.
Variations: We often used leftover turkey or chicken to make this soup; in that instance, you can follow the recipe as stated (minus cooking the chicken overnight) but add 2 to 4 cups of chicken broth in along with the cooked meat. Also, the recipe is pretty accommodating, so adding things like peppers or onions works well.
Want it sooner?: We've also made this on the stove top, if we want to eat it sooner rather than later. In that case, put the chicken in a stock pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Allow to cook about 20 minutes; then remove chicken and allow to cool to the point where it can be cut up. Return chicken to pot, along with the other ingredients, bring to a boil, then allow to simmer for an hour or more.
Serves: 6 to 8.
