Soup of the Week: Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is the time of year that our family loves to eat soup. Its so good to come home to a ready meal that's been cooking in your crockpot all day long, especially when the weather is so cold and yucky outside.

Our goal is one soup a week, but sometimes I get industrious and try for two. Last year, I made all new recipes, but this year we are going to repeat at lot of the same ones that we liked from last year.

This week we had Chicken Tortilla soup. I am using the recipe found on page 64 of the cookbook Favorite Brand Name Best-Loved Recipes of All Time.

This soup is quick, easy, and delicious. Its not very hearty, though. We ate lots of chips with our bowls to help fill up. Normally I bake bread, and my husband suggested corn bread next time. Good idea!

Also, a lot of soups I adapt to be cooked in our crock pot. This is not one of them, though! The cilantro only needs a few minutes to cook and I imagine the fresh salsa wouldn't hold up well in the crockpot, neither would the crushed chips.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

one clove garlic, minced
14 ounces chicken broth
16 ounces salsa of your choice (I used deli fresh mild salsa)
2 Tbs of Cayenne Pepper Sauce
10 ounces cooked chicken breast (I used canned Tyson)
1 can (8 0z) of corn
chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
2 oz of monterey jack cheese

1. Heat 1 tsp oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook garlic until tender. Add broth, 3/4 cup water, salsa, and hot sauce. Stir in chicken, corn, and cilantro. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, 5 minutes.

2. Stir in torillas and cheese. Serve hot.

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 6 mins

(side note... I think I need to make a light box or something. I never cook soup in the daylight and the lighting is just terrible for pictures, even with adjusting the white balance on my camera, in my house at night. Suggestions?)