Chicken Tortilla Soup- Perfect for this dreary day!

It's cold.  It's damp. It's gross out there.  We here In Philly have had a warmer winter than normal.  We have not gotten much snow- a little over the weekend, but then it warmed up and rained and now it's just blah. It is the perfect time for soup. I love to make soups, stews and chili's.  They are easy, tasty and most of the time, once everything is in the pot you can ignore it while you go about your business.  They also have the added bonus of making the house smell awesome.

I make up this Chicken Tortilla Soup a lot- mostly because I have almost everything for it on hand all the time.  It is also a soup that tastes pretty good if it can only simmer for 30 minutes, or taste awesome if it has time to sit on the back burner for longer- up to 3 hours.  It is also a good one to take to people- I have taken it as a housewarming dish or for new parents. It refrigerates well and reheats well.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 lbs   boneless & skinless chicken (breast or thighs) cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 or 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
6 cloves garlic- crushed or minced
1 Lime
1 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Mexican Oregano (reg. oregano will work too)
3 Tbsp Chile Powder ( I use 1 Tbsp green chile and 2 Tbsp red chile powder- if you only have the red, that's fine)
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Onion powder
1 26 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 med tomato, diced
6 cups chicken stock
1 7 oz can diced green chiles
1 can of black beans
1 bunch spinach, rinsed and chopped or 1 10 oz pack frozen spinach, thawed.


In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add chicken, sprinkle a little salt and pepper, and saute until you cannot see any pink.  Add the onions and stir well,  cooking for about 5 minutes.  Add carrots and celery, stir and let cook for about 5 minutes- stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, over med-low heat, heat the cumin,oregano, onion powder and chile powder, just until the aroma is released. Should take no more than 2 minutes- remove from heat and set aside.  If you want to skip the toasting of the spices, that is OK, the flavor will not be as deep. but it will be good

Add the juice from 1/2 of the lime to the chicken and vegetable mixture.  Add the fresh tomato and garlic.  Stir and cook until the tomato is limp, about a minute or two. Add the spice mixture, stir and let sit for a minute or two.  Add the canned tomatoes, honey, canned chiles, black beans and stock.  Give it a good stir, then raise the heat to med-high- you want to bring the soup to a boil. Let it boil for 5 -7 minutes.  Reduce heat, add the spinach, stir and let simmer for 30 minutes.   Add the juice from the second half of the lime. Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately or simmer for up to 3 hours.

To serve, ladle into bowls.  Add a few tortilla strips/ chips and a squeeze of lime or chopped cilantro- if you want.  I usually skip the garnishments, but as it has been pointed out, if it does not have tortillas in it, it is not technically a tortilla soup.  I like to serve this with warm flour tortillas or corn bread.

VARIATIONS:
Vegetarian: Substitute Zucchini and/or Chayote squash for the chicken and use vegetable stock instead of the chicken.  I also add a second can of beans- Pinto or Black. 

Pork: You can cube pork instead of chicken and have a nice pork stew. 

Crock Pot: Sautee the meat and veggies, add  the meat/ veggies and everything else to a crock pot and let cook on low all day.