Chicken Tortilla Soup

Last Monday Jason and I had a meeting with our soon-to-be-built townhouse community's sales staff to walk through (and make decisions about) the 500 different design options we could chose from. I worked from home the rest of the day so that I wouldn't have to take as much time off. Another perk was that I was able to get an earlier start on dinner than usual so I decided to make something that would normally be reserved for Sunday nights (when I have more time to make slow-cooking or more labor intensive recipes): chicken tortilla soup. In addition to sounding easy and delicious,  it made use of some ingredients I had leftover from the previous week--namely yellow pepper, corn tortillas and sour cream (I had made Jason's favorite fish tacos a few days before). The dish was as easy and good as it sounded-- a welcome addition to my recipe repertoire.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted slightly from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 TBL olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
32 oz chicken stock
3 TBL tomato paste
2 1/2 cups hot water
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
3 TBL cornmeal
5 whole corn tortilla, cut into strips
1 avocado, diced
sour cream (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 375. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder and salt. Drizzle 1 TBL olive oil on chicken breasts then sprinkle small amount of spice mix on both sides.Place chicken on a sheet pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until done. Use two forks to shred chicken and set aside.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions, yellow and green pepper, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften. Add remaining spice mix and stir to combine. Stir in shredded chicken.
3. Add Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes, uncovered.
4. Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water to make a paste. Stir into the soup. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes. Check seasonings. Turn off heat and cover. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in tortilla strips and let sit (covered) for about 5 more minutes.
5. Ladle into bowls. Top with diced avocado and sour cream (if using). Serve!