Chicken Tortilla Soup

Dave came back from our Thanksgiving trip home with a cold and when asked what kind of soup he wanted, he told me "chicken tortilla soup but no tomatoes".  I did some Googling and voila!  Pioneer Woman had a chicken tortilla soup that sounded delicious though I had to do some tweaking because Dave later informed me he didn't want beans in it either.  Which I later found out was good because we'd eaten all the canned beans we usually keep stocked.  You'll notice I added tomato paste to the soup.  First of all, I asked Dave if it would hurt his feelings if I added the paste and he allowed it.  It doesn't add a tomato-y flavor but it adds a depth that worked well with the spices.

This tasty soup was warm and filling and I wanted to make it again because we ate it rather quickly.  I haven't made it again yet but we still have some corn tortillas left so I'll probably make it again soon.

Ingredients:

2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 onion, diced
6 sweet mini peppers, diced (could use 1 bell pepper instead)
3 cloves garlic
4oz can diced green chiles
4 14 oz cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 corn tortillas cut into strips
avocado
sour cream
cilantro
shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix together cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and salt in a small ramekin.  Drizzle chicken breasts with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and enough seasoning mix to coat both sides.  Place seasoned breasts in a glass dish and roast about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is roasting, drizzle about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium heat.  Saute onion and bell peppers a couple of minutes, until they start to soften.  Sprinkle with remaining spice mix and stir until veggies are well coated.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the green chiles and chicken broth and bring to a simmer.  Let simmer while your chicken cooks.

Let chicken rest about 5 minutes after removing from oven.  Cut into pieces and add to soup.  Simmer about 5 minutes.  Add corn and tomato paste.  While flavors are melding, slice up your tortillas and cut up avocado.  Place a small handful of tortilla strips to your serving bowl, ladle soup over it and garnish with avocado, sour cream, cilantro and shredded cheese.  Then eat up!

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman