Chicken Tortilla Soup

It hasn't been soup weather around here lately, but I had some leftover rotisserie chicken and some corn on the cob from the farmer's market, and that's what I wanted to make with it... tortilla soup. For the most part we usually have the other ingredients already in our pantry, so it's pretty easy to just throw this soup together. Make some quesadillas and open an ice cold beer, and you've got yourself one tasty, festive dinner.

This can easily be made during the week, as it takes no more than an hour from start to finish. You can substitute tortilla chips for making the strips, as well as frozen corn for the fresh grilled corn, to cut down on time.  Tip: Grill more corn than you need, cut it all off the cob and store the extra in the freezer in a sealed freezer bag.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pasilla pepper, diced
1 small red bell pepper or half a large red bell pepper, diced
1 rotisserie chicken, meat picked off and shredded/chopped
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1/2 cup salsa verde/green salsa
64 oz. low sodium chicken broth

2 ears of corn
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. kosher salt
6 corn tortillas

2 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil

Queso fresco
Scallions
Lime
Avocado

I forgot to add this in the original photo of ingredients...

I had half a rotisserie chicken of meat leftover as well as some grilled chicken from the week before that I had put in the freezer, so use any chicken you have on hand.

Directions:
Heat a large pot on medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion, garlic, peppers and salt to pot and cook about 10 minutes. Add chili powders and cumin, stir together and cook for about 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, beans, chicken broth, salsa, and chicken to the pot. Stir and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush canola oil over both sides of each tortilla. Cut into strips. Lay strips out onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, until strips are brown and crispy.

While the soup and tortilla strips are cooking, grill the corn. Drizzle some olive oil over the corn then place on a grill, heated on high. Grill over high heat for about 10 minutes, turning often. You want to get some charring on the corn and bring in a nice smoky grilled flavor, but not burnt.  You want it to be similar to the picture below.  When the corn is done let it cool a minute and then cut it off the cob and add it to the soup.

When the soup has finished cooking, ladle into bowls and top with queso fresco, avocado, scallions, tortilla strips, and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay