Chicken Tortilla Soup

This Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe is based on Rachael Ray’s Chicken Fajita Tortilla Soup. As I typically do, I made a few small changes to the recipe as I was cooking.  I rarely follow a recipe exactly – I use recipes as more of a suggestion or an idea.

I love this soup because it is made from ingredients that I typically have in my pantry and refrigerator, but it still has a bright and fresh flavor. You can use your favorite tortilla chips and cheese – this time I used plain corn tortilla chips and pepper jack cheese, but I have also made this with multi-grain tortilla chips and other cheese such as cheddar and colby jack.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breast cut into small chunks
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 – 14.5 ounce cans of fire roasted tomatoes, diced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 avocado, diced
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Tortilla Chips
• Shredded Cheese

Directions:

Cook the chicken in a deep saute pan over medium heat (or dutch oven) until browned on all sides and cooked through. Add the cumin, coriander, and thyme and stir to coat the chicken evenly with the spices.

Add the bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.   Saute for 4-6 minutes, until the vegetables are tender (but not mushy). Add the tomatoes and chicken stock, and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the avocado, lime, and cilantro in a small bowl.

Place some crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of four bowls and top with a small amount of shredded cheese. Ladle the soup into the four bowls.  Add additional tortilla chips and shredded cheese on top of the soup.  Top each bowl of soup with the avocado mixture.