Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Comfort Soup for Fall weather

When September rolls around each year I start thinking of warm comfort foods and Chicken Tortilla soup is right up at the top of my list!  A nice bowl of soup for lunch or dinner when we’re camping and the weather is brisk or rainy seems just right.

Make it simple

When planning a week of menu plans prior to camping I include some ‘Make Ahead’ meals and some Pantry meals in addition to a few grilled meals.  Not only does this free up some of my time to hike and explore the destinations we are visiting, it ensures variety.  I found doing these few planning steps keeps me from grabbing food on the go from a fast food drive through or struggling with raiding the fridge or pantry for a make do kind of meal.

I like to have staples onboard that are are planned and follow the recipe I’m going to follow.  Chicken Tortilla soup is one of my must have items on my planning list.  I like the versatility of the dish as much as I enjoy the warm spicy flavors.  This soup makes a great lunch or dinner and the leftovers (need to be refrigerated) but are wonderful to heat up as a repeat menu item in a day or two.

Since the soup ingredients listed in the primary recipe are all pantry stable if unopened, you’ll be able to pretty much ‘heat and eat’.

Note:  ‘Canned food’ tend to have excess sodium, so read the labels.  Purchase low sodium chicken broth, rinse the canned chicken and canned beans well under running water, washing off some of the excess sodium.

Now if you feel like ‘kickin’ this recipe up a notch while camping or at home… you can definitely enhance and add some fresh substitutions and additional condiments…

Consider substituting rotisserie or leftover cooked chicken.  Other toppings can be added perhaps a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of shredded cheese, a few sprigs of cilantro and/or diced avocado.

If you want to keep it simple just follow the basic ‘pantry’ recipe and it will actually taste homemade and delicious.

Adapt this recipe as needed to fit your particular food program.  If you are vegetarian, eliminate the chicken, and chicken broth by substituting vegetable broth and adding some canned or frozen vegetables.  The dairy products (cheese and sour cream in the additional topping suggestions can be omitted and the soup will still be flavorful and make a nice meal.

 

Basic Ingredients

28 oz                    low sodium boxed chicken broth or bone broth

10 oz can             cooked chicken breast

15 oz can              white navy beans or black or pinto beans, rinsed and drained

10 oz can             diced tomatoes with diced green chilis

8 oz  can             salsa of choice (I used Paul Newman pineapple salsa)

1/2 tsp                 cumin

1/2 tsp                 chili powder

Topping

1 cup                    tortilla chips

 

Directions

1.  Rinse and drain canned: chicken and beans.  Add to a large saucepan.
2.  Pour in broth, diced tomatoes and juices and salsa into the saucepan and stir,
3.  Cook over medium heat until the soup is warmed to desired temperature.
4.  Pour or ladle the soup into large coffee mugs or individual serving bowls.
5.  Add a squeeze of lime juice to each bowl, stir.
6. Top with crumble tortilla chips and serve.

Additional Toppings (totally optional)

1/2 cup      grated cheddar or pepper jack cheese

1/2 cup      sour cream

1                  diced avocado

1 lime         cut a small wedge of lime per person; when ready to serve the soup, add a squeeze of lime and stir.

 

My cookbook Small Kitchen Big Flavors! is available at a great Introductory Price on Ebay and my blog site at: http:/smallkitchenbigflavorsblog.wordpress.com