MAKE IT! You won't regret it.... (unless of course you don't like chicken. Or tortillas. Or soup.)

I've got three words for you... coffee intravenous drip. WAIT, no, that's not it... oops... (but really, Christmas wish list, anyone??)

andddddd it's Chicken Tortilla Soup.

I seriously love this stuff... it's so good! Chicken, beans, tomato, corn... add in some cheese and tortilla chips; and voila! Delicious and nutritious (Relatively...just stand while you eat it and the cheese and tortilla calories won't count ;-) ). PLUS it helps that all the ingredients are 'staple' and so I'm typically well stocked for the end-of-the-month-getting-tight-on-my-grocery-budget-blues. I've found several recipes for this fill-your-belly comfort and have combined them to suit my family's tastes. 

Stuff you need:
-Chicken (imagine that... but really, I typically use a chicken breast per person or a bunch of tenders)
- Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning 
-Olive oil (I prefer the extra virgin variety)

and then for the soup:
- Carton of Chicken broth (homemade or not;; my go-to is the Aldi brand! Yummy AND affordable)
- Can of diced tomatoes (or 2... one of the recipes I saw used 2, but I like to switch out one with a can of rotel... cause green chilies make everything better!)
- Can of Rotel (Again, I go with Aldi... it's substantially cheaper and still delicious)
- Can of black beans (Or 2... we LOVEEEE our beans. )
- And a good bit of corn (I kinda just open the bag and pour until I'm satisfied)

And that's it. That's all the ingredients. You simply rub the chicken down with Tony's, a little olive oil, and bake it on a pan at 400 degrees for 20 or so minutes. When the chicken isn't pink on the inside, it's done. Side note; while I do most of the cooking, I often make my hubs check my chicken. He worked for Chickfila and I recognize his astuteness at chicken-making. :-) Then shred your chicken into a pot, toss in the diced tomatoes, rotel, beans, corn, broth, and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve up with shredded cheddar and chips!

Quick note:: My hunk of sweetness isn't a big fan of chunks of tomatoes, so I usually blend the diced tomatoes (but not the rotel) so they're not as chunky and cook down a little more.  OH! If you don't have Tony's for the chicken; it'll still taste great with just salt and pepper... but really, you should try it. Come to my house, and I'll share mine! I married a man who's lovely mama is a cajun and so he's grown up with it. I tried it once, and I was hooked.

I posted a picture of it on facebook with my blog link (sans the cheese... cause you don't need to know EVERYTHING about me.)


 xoxoxoxo Mrs. Pickles