A New Recipe

Today was mix and match day on our new menu plan, and Matt has been asking me to make chicken tortilla soup since, well, for a really long time. :) He loves to get it in a bread bowl from McAlister's. I do not order it there, so part of my hesitation in making it at his request was I didn't know what it was supposed to taste like. :)

But, he asked again today, so I set to work looking for a recipe. I pulled several up on allrecipes.com, but then I searched google for chicken tortilla soup + McAlister's. Two contenders popped up as good options amongst the masses. Matt took a look at them and picked the one that sounded "closest" to him. :)

Off we went for a quick trip to Publix, and then it was cooking time! Here is the recipe we used:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, minced I used onion flakes
  
• 2 Tbs. minced garlic I used garlic powder
  
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28 oz.) can low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 c. plus 2 Tbs. water, divided
• 1/4 c. corn starch
• 1 (4 oz.) can green chiles
• 4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (about 1 c.)
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro I skipped this
  
• 2 c. tortilla chips
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced

1. Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a skillet large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until chicken is done (about 15 min.). Drain chicken; cut into 1/2-in. cubes (I shredded the chicken instead of cubing it).
2. In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until soft.
3. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes and their liquid, chicken broth, and 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbs. water
4. Stir together cornstarch and remaining 1/4 c. water in a separate bowl, and then stir into stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 min., until broth is slightly thickened.
5. Stir in chiles, cheese, cilantro, and cooked chicken. Stir until cheese melts, then let simmer for 10 min.
6. Ladle soup into bowls, serve with chips on the side (or crumble a few chips over each bowl of soup). Garnish with green onions.

Yield: 4 servings

I actually doubled the recipe so we'd have some for the freezer. We each had PLENTY for dinner, and I have 3 more heaping qt. sized freezer bags for another day now.

Matt **really** liked it. He didn't recall the McAlister's soup being tomato-based, but he said this was delicious and the tomatoes just added a little sweetness to it. Per other recipes I saw, I added some black beans to my serving as well (Matt does not like them). Oh, and I added a shake or two of cumin, because I saw some of the other recipes called for fajita seasoning. Even though I had hesitations initially (I'm not a big soup person), it was really good, and I'm glad to have another recipe that cooks up a lot of extra food for the freezer. :) Even if I hadn't doubled it, we would have had at least one more *hearty* dinner in the freezer. :)

Enjoy!