Chicken Tortilla Soup

Just yesterday we mentioned a few cost saving options when purchasing Grass-Fed (Organic) Meat – it can be difficult to commit to that cost, but thankfully there are lots of options out there to help you save.

One of the easiest ways to save is by reducing the meat you are using at the dinner table, and in some cases, eliminating it completely – I know that’s not an option for some, but if you can do that, the higher cost won’t be such a hard thing to adjust to.

Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of the easiest and BEST recipes to do that.. if you can’t eliminate meat completely you can combine with a vegetable rich soup.  

Just this past week we were able to stock up on Bell Peppers (both Red and Green) on sale at Sprouts – combined with the inexpensive Organic Chicken Broth at Safeway, it is an easy meal to put together.

It really doesn’t take that long, we are just really thorough – aside from cooking the chicken, the soup only took about 30 minutes to whip up – and that was while I was mopping, dressing the kids for their school performance, and throwing up a few posts in between.

Just remember though, there are SO many ways to make Chicken Tortilla Soup – yours might be different, this is just how we love ours and what works best in our house – it’s our “keeper”!

Drizzle a little Olive Oil and seasonings on 1 OR 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, and bake for 25-30 minutes in the oven at 375.  You’ll be shredding this up to put in the soup.

While that is cooking, dice up one Red and one Green Bell Pepper, along with 1/2 Onion – add a little Olive Oil to the post on the stove, and throw in the vegetables until they are soft.  

You’ll want to add a teaspoon if not 2 of Cumin, Chili Powder and Garlic Salt, too…

Once that mixture is nice & soft, add 3 Spoons of Tomato Paste, a can or 2 of Black Beans (drained), the can of Rotel, and a Carton of Chicken Broth (32 oz) – let it simmer on low.

Remove the chicken from the oven and shred with a fork – add to the pot on the stove… continue to simmer.   Then we love to add a little Maseca to the soup – but not directly!  We put 1/8 C. Maseca in a small dish and blend well with water – then pour into the soup to give it a nice corn flavor (and to thicken it up just a bit!)

Cut up some Corn Tortillas in strips (about 15 at a time is easiest!) and throw in the soup, give them a few minutes to get soft – then ladle into soup bowls and top with Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream and/or Avocados.

This makes enough for 6-8, plus we had extra for lunch the next day so VERY cost effective! Toss on a loaf of French Bread, too!