Chef 101 Humpday: Eve Makes Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe didn’t give me toooooo much trouble. The cooked chicken that it called for? Well, you’d be surprised to learn I didn’t buy it canned. Eddie had me use a Caribbean Jerk marinade for an hour and then bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. (But I didn’t shred it like the recipe told me to! I sliced – and munched – it.)

I chopped extra cilantro for myself and generously added to my own bowl, my family went crazy adding the tortilla chips (from a bag) and, if I were to change anything else, I might have made it a tad less spicy. But, being a Chef 101er…would that mean reducing the chili powder, pepper and/or enchilada sauce…? hmmm.

Ingredients:

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken

1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes,

mashed

1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile

peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

7 corn tortillas

vegetable oil

Directions:

1.	Placechicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlicinto a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season withcumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn andcilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on Highsetting for 3 to 4 hours.
2.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3.	Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
4.	Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.