Um, is it okay to post a recipe involving chicken on a site called "Cluck and Tweet?"
I'm going with yes (with the promise that said chicken led a happy, free-range, organic life on a quaint Amish farm).
Without further ado: The easiest and tastiest chicken tortilla soup ever. Well, maybe not ever, but still-- it is super easy, and that counts for something.
ingredients:
canola oil for the soup pot bottom (something like an 1/8 of a cup will do)
I medium red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped (unless you are like me and totally forget to buy a green pepper. In that case, the one red pepper works fine)
2 cloves garlic, minced. Or, if you are feeling lazy, one teaspoon of already minced garlic.
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin (which is prettier to photograph than oregano)
1 can diced tomatoes, from the store or your own canned surplus. Personally, canning scares the crud out of me, so I go for the store bought stuff, because the FDA is proving to be a safe bet these days...
4 cups of cold water or chicken stock (I go for the stock)
A package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Even typing that gives me the shivers. I. hate. raw. chicken. I wish I could dump it in the soup like this:
simply to avoid touching it.
1 (15 ounce) can of cooked black beans
3/4 a bag frozen corn kernels (I do like to use the corn we've frozen from the summer for soups like this, but by March, we're stuck with the "freshly frozen" variety. And that's fine, since the bag promises yellow delights that are "always delicious").
Oh, and some blue corn chips to stick in the bottom of the bowls before adding soup....
Heat the canola oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat.
Saute the peppers, onion, garlic, oregano and cumin for 3 minutes.
Add the tomato and continue stirring for 1 minute.
Add cold water or stock and stir.
Looks more like a bubbling acid pool than soup at this point, I know.
Now comes the tricky part: add the chicken. without touching it. Okay, that's me...really you just have to toss the chicken breasts in and let them simmer for 20 minutes. I, on the other hand, make it a monumental task...
Yeah.
While waiting, enjoy a little moment of peace. My moment involves looking out the back door, where this awaits:
When the 20 minutes are up, remove the cooked chicken breasts, let them cool for a few minutes, and then cut 'em up, anyway you like.
Return the cut chicken into the soup pot (so much easier this time!) and dump in the beans and corn. Bring back to a boil, and serve, over the crunched up tortilla chips.
*If you don't have massive aversions to spicy foods like the guy with the hairy arm (see above, meet my husband) does, you can chop up a seeded jalapeno pepper and give this soup a kick!
--K
