Chicken Tortilla Soup

I think I've mentioned before how I'm a fan of The Pioneer Woman. Her blog is smart, funny, inspiring, a little sarcastic, and engaging. I go there almost every day and drool at her cooking blog.  She makes some pretty delicious looking stuff and definitely knows how to photograph her food! I've tried a lot of her recipes and so far everything has been quite yummy...maybe not good for you...but yummy.

Well, I'm a soup gal.  Yep, I could eat good soup every day for a year and be happy.  I always like to order chicken tortilla soup at restaurants so when I saw that Pioneer Woman had a recipe for chicken tortilla soup that tasted like it does in the restaurant I thought I should give it a try.   No surprise, it was really good.  Now...I didn't follow the recipe exactly (I was close) because I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, wanted to add a few different touches (corn and lime juice) and I absolutely CAN'T STAND black beans.  Go here if you'd like to try her exact recipe which I'm sure is delightful and so you can see her pictures which will make you drool.  But, here's how I made it and I highly recommend giving this a try.  It was scrumptious.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 (or more) of a Rotisserie Chicken Cut Into Small Pieces
• 1 T. Olive Oil
• 1/2 c. (or more) Diced Yellow Onion
• 1/4 c. Diced Green Pepper
• 1/4 c. Diced Red Pepper
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1/2 t. (or more) Cumin
• 1/2 t. (or more) Chili Powder
• 1/4 t. (or more) Garlic Powder
• 1/8 t. Salt
• 3/4 can Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chiles
• 3/4 can Whole Kernel Corn
• 32 oz. Chicken Broth or Stock
• 5-6 T. Tomato Sauce (or use 3 T. Tomato paste if you have it)
• 4 c. Hot Water
• 3 T. Cornmeal
• Tortilla Chips, Broken
• Sour Cream
• Grated Colby/Monterey Jack Cheese
• Fresh Cilantro
• Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

Instructions:

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the spices.  Stir to combine, then add the chicken and stir.

Pour in Rotel, chicken broth, tomato sauce and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and add the corn. Simmer for 40 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 25 minutes. I honestly can't tell you why you do this step.  But on her blog, she says "Trust Pioneer Woman" so I did.  Check seasonings, adding more if needed. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, tortilla chips, cilantro, lime juice and grated cheese.  (PW added even more garnishes which I'm sure would be fantastic but I didn't have such things lying around my kitchen).

ENJOY!