Yolanda's Kitchen Creations...Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love making soup from scratch.  I will tell you that my first time thinking of doing soup from scratch was a bit overwhelming for me.  I mean to think of all that I had to put into it and then I thought it would have to cook all day! OMG!

Well I am glad to know now that that is not the case at least not for this recipe that I made. You can even make this in a slow cooker if you want. I decided to make mine on the gas stove just because I was making a couple of other meals. 

Now one think I will tell you that I did do was I boiled the chicken breast the day before to make it easier and quicker for me to cook the following day.  You know prep ahead …I am a big 'do ahead' for all of my meals like this.

So here are the ingredients I used (you can use anything you want or prefer to substitute):

1 can of Swanson reduced-sodium chicken broth (14.5 oz)
1 can (14.5 oz) Hunts fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can of Goya black beans (14.5 oz)
½ cup of frozen onions or 1 small onion, chopped (1/3 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken
1 ripe small or medium avocado
1 Chopped fresh cilantro, if desired
6-8 white corn tortillas (I used Mission tortillas)

Directions

Cut tortillas in half; cut halves into 1/4-inch strips. In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook strips in oil, 1/3 at a time, until light brown and crisp. Remove from pan; drain on paper towels.

In a deep cooking pot add onions, garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and salt. Add chicken and black beans. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes.  Add a handful of chopped cilantro (when you do this at the end it holds its taste better).

To serve, peel and pit avocado. Cut into 1-inch slices. Sprinkle tortilla strips among individual serving bowls. Ladle in soup. Top with avocado; garnish with remaining tortilla strips and cilantro.

For me this is a great soup for all year round…but the winter is even better. Enjoy!