Reluctant Cooks Corner-Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hello everyone! I pray that you are having a blessed week. I am so ready for the real fall weather to be here, so maybe if I post some recipes that scream out, "Tummy warming comfort food," the weather will listen? The first recipe is one that I love to prepare on those crisp fall days. It's for a Tortilla Soup that takes the guess work out of seasoning and can be easily adapted for a family since you can add extra kick or make it mild depending on your taste. The base of the soup is the mild taco sauce, the chicken broth and the diced tomato. Everything else can be substituted depending on your taste. You can make it vegetarian style or even add beans or corn if you wish.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

3 14 oz Cans low sodium chicken broth. If you like your soup really thick you can add two, if you like it to have a lot of broth you can add four. Keep in mind, the less broth, the spicier the soup will be

2 Cans diced tomatoes, use juice included

1 15 oz bottle of La Victoria Mild sauce. You can also use Medium Taco Bravo sauce if you like it spicier

2 Cups cooked chicken chopped (I always use my leftover Costco Chicken and chop it. It's delicious in the soup and it helps me not to waste food)

1/4 Cup chopped Cilantro

2 Cloves of garlic chopped (if you're not a garlic lover like me, one will be fine too).

1/2 Chopped onion

1 Red Pepper, seeded, and chopped

1/2 Mexican squash, slicked in half and then cut (I forgot to cut them in half this time and it was a little harder to eat).

Garnish: Tostitos Lime Chips and Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Directions:

Chop all the vegetables and chicken to put into the soup.

Pour the chicken broth, the diced tomatoes (juice included) and the taco sauce into the pan. Stir well and taste. You might want to start with three quarters of the bottle and see how much you want to add. Keep in mind that as you prepare it, the flavors will become stronger as it cooks down.

Once you have the flavor where you want it, add the vegetables and chicken and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling turn down to medium heat and simmer. Make sure to continue to cook at a lower temperature because it will dry your chicken out if it cooks at a high temperature for too long. If you're in a hurry you can cover and it will cook faster. You'll know if's finished when your vegetables are soft and your onions are clear.

When you are done cooking, garnish with a generous helping of crumbled lime Tostitos and Monterey Jack Cheese.

ENJOY!

Next blog post I'm going to try and make a Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Stay tuned reluctant cooks! Please feel free to email me and share some of your favorite recipes at bernadetteoc@gmail.com. Bon Appetit!