Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Black Beans

serves 6ish; adapted from Girlichef

ingredients:

vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

5 small corn tortillas, cut or torn into strips

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. paprika 

1 "shake" red pepper flakes
1 can Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies

1/2 can of tomato paste

1 box (quart) of chicken stock

2 cooked, chopped chicken breasts

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

3/4 c. half & half

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

toppings:

sour cream

shredded Monterey Jack cheese

fried tortilla strips

Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a dutch oven, or heavy pot over medium heat; add onion and cook until they are translucent, about 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic, and cook an additional minute.  (at this point, I removed half of the cooked onions, and reserved to add back in after I blended the base, for some extra texture.) Mix in spices and tortilla strips, stirring constantly for a few minutes.  Pour in the can of Rotel (juice and all!), box of chicken stock and the half can of tomato paste; whisk to incorporate.  Reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.  I turned off the heat and used my immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth (you can also do this in batches in the blender.)  Girlichef recommends that you let the soup cool before blending.  I threw caution to the wind--with T-minus 7 minutes until the trick-or-treaters would be beating down the door for the mini Snickers that I already ate, I needed to get dinner on the table.

After you puree the soup, add in the chopped chicken, black beans, half & half, shredded cheese and reserved onions.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Let everything warm through, and then you're ready to serve!

I took a few extra corn tortillas, sliced 'em up, and fried them in vegetable oil until golden & crispy.

We topped our soup with sour cream, fried tortilla strips & (lots) of shredded cheese!

I declare this a new Halloween dinner tradition!  I love that this is SO easy to make and SO festive with the orange soup and black beans.