Chicken Tortilla Soup Olé!

Once upon a time, I fell in love with chicken tortilla soup. We had it at work from time to time, but each time I got to the cafeteria, it would be out. I became very sad. Why? Why?!!!!! Why can’t I have this delicious soup in my tummy? And then I figured out that I could make it on my own. And I could add extra goodies to it, like sweet fresh corn. And diced avocado. And Greek yogurt. Drools… excuse me as I go make a big pot.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts, small cubes
• 2½ cups carrots, diced
• 2 cups celery, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cups corn (I prefer fresh, but canned corn is ok too)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups tomatoes, diced
• 2 cans Rotel original diced tomatoes and green chilies (10 ounces each)
• 1 can tomato paste (6 ounces)
• 1 liter chicken stock (I use the Kirkland chicken stock and those come in 500mL containers)
• 1½ tablespoon chili powder
• 1½ tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil (I’ve switched to avocado oil, blurb below!)

Topping ideas

• Cilantro
• Cheese
• Lime wedges
• Diced avocado
• Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• Tortilla chips

Directions

1. Prep all ingredients and set aside until ready for use.
2. Mix spices with some salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Sprinkle spices onto chicken cubes to coat.
3. In a large pot, drizzle oil over medium heat and cook chicken cubes. Set aside.
4. Add a little more oil into the pot, add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and corn. Cook for about five minutes over medium heat until veggies are cooked down and onions have browned slightly.
5. Add cooked chicken, Rotel, tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, and chicken stock to the pot.
6. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
7. Taste and add salt and pepper; make sure to not under-salt. Add additional chili powder if not spicy enough.
8. Ladle into bowls and add optional toppings to heart’s desire!

A piping hot bowl of chicken tortilla soup for lunch or dinner is the best thing to ever exist. Grab a bowl today!

And now, a word from our sponsor (not really): Avocado Oil

While at Costco, we saw avocado oil that led me to stop in my tracks, stand in the aisle, and Google the benefits of it. Turns out, it actually has MORE nutrients than olive oil; avocado oil contains a lot of antioxidants and Vitamin E, making it a winner over olive oil. Avocado oil also has a higher smoke point than olive oil. Smoke point is the temperature at which you can heat the oil before it burns. When oil burns, it creates free radicals that are very harmful to health and are a major cause to many diseases. The smoke point of avocado oil is between 490-520°F whereas olive oil has a smoke point of 410°F. So for those reasons, we’ve officially switched to avocado oil.