Thursday, June 27, 2013

Chicken Tortilla Soup

LUCY BURDETTE: Don't you love it when you can (sort of) make two meals at once, for 2/3 the work? Deadline panic plus guests for the weekend = need something easy! 

So I roasted a chicken with a couple of sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli on the side for John and me one night, and made chicken tortilla soup for the visitors the next. This can be even easier if you buy a chicken already roasted or have cleverly frozen some leftovers!

 
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

INGREDIENTS

4-5 corn tortillas
1/2 roasted chicken, shredded
1 box chicken broth
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 16 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 bay leaf
2 tsp ground cumin
1 onion, chopped, or 1 bunch scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or to taste
1/2 lime

Cut the tortillas into strips and place them on a baking pan. Pour a little olive oil over and mix so most of the strips have been oiled. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until beginning to brown. Set these aside.

In a large pot, saute onions, scallions and cumin in 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add the broth and tomatoes and bay leaf and simmer for ten minutes. Then add the chicken and corn and black beans and simmer until the corn is tender. (You can do ahead up to this point and put the soup away for the next day.)

When the soup is hot, squeeze in the lime and stir in the cilantro. Serve garnished with crispy tortilla strips and a dollop of sour cream, if desired. Ole!

 



Lucy (that's me!) is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries, most recently TOPPED CHEF. You can find the books online or anyplace where books are sold! Please follow me on Twitter or "like" me on Facebook for all the latest news.





7 comments:

  1. Chicken tortilla soup for visitors...can I come to your house? This looks great! The original dinner sounded great too - roast chicken and sweet potatoes cannot be greatly improved on, IMO.

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    Replies
    1. thanks Laineshots! I'm afraid we finished the last of it:). I'll let you know next time I'm roasting a chicken...

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  2. I bet some leftover sweet potatoes would taste good in the soup, too.
    It sounds lovely,

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  3. I am such a fan of roast chicken. So easy and you get to ignore it while it's in the oven. The soup sounds terrific, too. A deadline and guests for the weekend? I'd be pulling out the chocolate gelato and eating it straight from the container!

    ~Krista

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  4. What a fun and efficient idea! Thanks for that, busy lady!

    MJ

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  5. This looks delicious. Saving for a cool day.---Rachel

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