Saturday, November 3, 2012

Garden Bounty Tortilla Soup

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This soup is good for you and it's delicious.  Plus, it's a great way to get your kids, spouse or anyone for that matter to eat their veggies.  I am a picky eater and really don't like a lot of veggies, but I love this soup!  The only downside is that it requires a lot of chopping, but it makes a TON.  I actually freeze half of the recipe.

Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth (you can use chicken bouillon cubes - 1 cube to 2 cups of water)
1 red onion, diced
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large carrots, pealed and diced
2-4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup tomato paste (more if desired, to taste)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole pepper of the canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I use the La Costena brand)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 small to medium zucchini, diced
1 yellow summer squash, diced
1 Red bell pepper, chopped
1 Green bell pepper, chopped
1 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbs freshly squeezed orange juice
Fresh, frozen or canned corn - optional

In large stockpot over high heat, combine chicken broth, chicken, onion, carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, garlic, chipotle pepper, jalapeno, oregano and cumin.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.  When the chicken is cooked, remove from pot and shred it.  Add salt and white pepper.  Add zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers and corn if desired.  Bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.  Add cilantro, lime and orange juice.  Stir well and remove from heat. (When I reheat the extras the next day, sometimes their isn't as much juice so I just add a bit more chicken broth)

Garnish: Tortilla chips, shredded cheese, chopped fresh cilantro, sliced avocados, jalepeno rings, lime wedges.  (I usually just do chips, cheese, cilantro and a bit of lime juice).

**When I freeze it, I leave out the potatoes (since they really don't freeze well) and the chicken.  Then I just add them when I cook the soup.  When you're ready to eat your frozen soup, thaw it and then you can either cook it in a crockpot on low for 4-6 hours or you can cook in on the stove and boil it for about 30-40 minutes.

Makes approx. 3 quarts

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