Tortilla Soup

I cooked a chicken in the crock pot the other day with the thought we would have chicken tacos for dinner. I added chili powder and taco seasoning, a whole chopped onion and some minced garlic to the pot that morning so the chicken would have the right flavor at supper time. By the time I got home from work that evening I was thinking about soup, so I took the cooked chicken out of the pot, pulled off the breast meat and added that back to the broth that had developed throughout the day. I found cans of black beans and diced tomatoes, and added those to the mix, but I needed to get a can of corn, some sour cream and some cilantro from the store.

I fried some tortilla strips for a garnish, along with some shredded cheese, and a squirt of lime juice to brighten the flavor. It turned out very well. Here is the recipe:

• 2 large chicken breasts – skin on and bone in or 1 whole chicken
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp taco seasoning
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tap pepper
• 1 cup water

Place all in crock pot in morning, cook on low for 8 hours. Remove chicken from pot and debone, add chopped breast meat back to pot. Add 1 can black beans (drained) 1 can corn (drained) and 1 can diced tomatoes (or 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes). Turn crock pot to high and cook for 1 hour. Cut tortillas into thin strips and fry in hot oil until crisp, drain on paper towels. To serve, place soup in bowl. Add dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of shredded cheese (co-jack or other) some chopped cilantro and a squirt of fresh lime juice.