Tonight’s dinner was Tortilla Soup. If you’ve been following my menu plan, you know that I post it on Mondays. I don’t usually check the weather when making my grocery list, so little did I know that today would be one of the hottest days we’ve had since last summer! I don’t like having hot soup when it’s hot out AT ALL, but I decided to stick with the plan and it worked out ok.
I didn’t dish up a bowl for Mattie – it was a bit spicy and I know he won’t eat it. So rather than even attempt it, he had Kraft Easy Mac and he was happy.
You can easily make this soup with homemade chicken stock, but I used canned Butterball Chicken Broth that I got at Walgreens with a rebate so that what I used – and was one of the main reasons why I planned this meal.
Tortilla Soup
- 1-2 Tbl vegetable oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper or other chili of your choice, seeded and finely chopped (you can more or less depending on how spicy you like foods)
- 3 cans chicken broth 14.5 oz (I used Butterball 99% Fat Free)
- 2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained, 14.5 oz (Hunt’s Fire Roasted are our favorite)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 cup cooked chicken, cubed (I actually used one boneless, skinless chicken breast – if you like lots of chicken you can easily use more)
- 12 corn tortillas, cut into strips (or use tortilla chips if you are short on time)
- Optional toppings: shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos, sour cream, cilantro, salsa, sliced olives, or sliced avocado
In a large pot, heat the oil and cook the onion, garlic, and pepper a couple minutes until the onion tender crisp. Add broth and tomatoes to the pot with the cumin, salt, and pepper. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Tortilla Strips:I have a friend who makes her tortilla soup quick and easy by using a bag of tortilla chips. You can do that, or if you have a few extra minutes, you can fry up some strips in a bit of oil. Just fry them up until brown and crispy and drain on paper towels.
Since we are watching what we eat, I decided to oven bake my strips. I cut them and placed them on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I then gave the strips a few short sprays of cooking spray and mixed them around on the sheet. I then baked them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or so, checking them once or twice and moving them around on the sheet. If they aren’t brown and crispy after 15 minutes, leave in a bit longer, checking them every 3 minutes or so.
To Serve: Place some tortilla strips or chips in a bowl, however many you would like. Ladle the soup over the chips. Top with optional toppings.
WW NOTE: For those using Weight Watchers, I calculated out my recipe to be 1 point per 1 cup serving (not including the strips or any toppings), so this is a very low point dinner. Be sure to calculate your own recipe, which will obviously vary depending on the ingredients you use, especially the type of chicken broth and how much chicken you add.
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