One Hour Chicken Tortilla Soup

By Erin

These days, I’m all about meals that pack in a variety of food groups but can be made quickly.  I’m trying to keep the sweet hubby and I healthy this winter, and I’m a firm believer in getting nutrition from food, not from supplements.  However, we battle some serious food allergies to raw fruits and vegetables in this house, so that requires everything to be cooked – which takes time. Funny, because that’s the one thing I don’t have a ton of these days.  The baby does take a nice long nap in the afternoon, but its just a bit too early for dinner cooking, since we tend not to eat until around eight.  Instead, I normally have to squeeze dinner making in during a shorter nap she’ll take around 7.

I found Rachel Ray’s Chicken Fajita Tortilla Soup   recipe in her Just in Time cookbook. The recipe looked tasty, and I know that Rachel’s recipes are always easy to follow and fast to make. I used her recipe, but I doctored it up a bit and made some changes.  Doesn’t it look tasty?

It’s perfect for this cold weather, and I made it from start to finish (like on the table finished) in just under and hour. PERFECT for a weeknight.  And, its packed with veggies and protein.  Yum. If you’re a slow cooker kinda girl, you could probably throw it all in the slow cooker, too, although I made it on the stove top.

Here’s my final recipe, inspired by Rachel’s.  Give it a try!

• Olive Oil – just enough to cover the pan
• 1.25 lb. package of chicken thighs (Rachel Ray uses chicken tenders – you could use those or breasts.  I prefer thighs in soup because they’re fattier, so I think they add to the flavor and help the soup stick to your ribs in this cold weather.)
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning (we buy a big container in the spice section, I add taco seasoning to just about everything – not just tacos!)
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
• Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5-6 scallions, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large bell pepper, diced
• 2 jalapenos diced
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 32 ounce container of chicken stock
• White Corn Tortilla Chips
• 1 cup shredded Cabot White Cheddar or any other cheddar or taco mix
• Fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions:

• Dice onion, pepper, scallion, jalapeno.  Begin to cook these over medium high heat with the olive oil.

• Cut the chicken thighs into bite size pieces, removing some of the extra fat as you go.  I used this package of thighs that is 1.25 pounds from Target. I don’t normally grocery shop at Target, but I find it super convenient these days when its difficult to get to more than one store in a day! And, this package is the perfect portion size!

• Add the chicken in with the onions and peppers while they’re cooking.
• Add taco seasoning and mix well.

• Add the Coriander, Thyme, Salt and Pepper. This is what Coriander looks like, in case you’ve never used it. (I hadn’t!)

• Add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil for a few minutes to make sure everything is cooked. Then, bring it back down to medium and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes.
• Break some white corn chips up and layer the bottom of your bowls with them.
• Sprinkle with grated white cheddar or other cheese
• Add a couple of leaves of cilantro
  

Pour soup over the chips and enjoy!