Chicken Tortilla Soup

via

4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth

1 1/2 t ground cumin

1 t chili powder

1/2 t onion powder

1 can (28 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes
4 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 pkg (10 oz) frozen sweet whole kernel corn

1 can black beans, rinsed

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, combine chicken broth, cumin, chili powder and onion powder.  Add diced tomatoes (or stewed tomatoes would work), chicken, corn, and black beans.  Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer.  Add salt and pepper to taste.   Garnish with cheese, fresh cilantro, lime or avacado wedges and tortilla chips.  Make approx 8 servings.

Make your own tortilla strips by cutting tortillas into thin strips.  Bake at 350 for 4-6 minutes or until crisp.

Notes:

David doesn't like onion so I never keep it on hand.  Swap out the onion powder for 1 large onion, chopped and sauted in 1 T oil.  Then add chicken broth, etc.

The real recipe calls for 1 T cumin.  I think cumin can get strong really fast so I went easy on it.

I'm not a huge tomato fan, but I LOVED the taste of fire roasted tomatoes!

You could easily get by with less than 4 cups of chicken.

The real recipe doesn't call for any black beans, but I'm glad I stuck them in.  Next time I will try two cans.

Chicken boullion cubes have plenty of salt, so I didn't add any.

And, ahem... David had an egg sandwich last night while I enjoyed my soup.  Three years ago that probably would have upset me but not anymore.  Especially after taking his supper requests for the few nights prior.  It's all about compromise, right? :)

On another note: 

I also made bread yesterday... successfully!  PTL!



Although we've been married three years, I still get a little nervous when a recipe calls for yeast and kneading and rising. Yes, I know... sad.  So I decided it was time to cultivate my culinary skillz.  10 days ago, my first batch of sourdough was ready to go and I enthusiastically mixed up a batch, set it prettily in a bowl on the hot oven to rise and.... nothing.  It sat there for hours like a lump on a log oven.  So I reasoned that I must have messed something up and decided to try again.... still... nothing.  No kidding.  By this time I was running out of starter as I wanted to keep some for myself and needed to save some for my dear friend who gave all hers away.  After another 10 days, I did what I do best and made the recipe my own... and it worked!

Now I'm off to make more!  So much for the weight loss program.