Soup-a Suppa!

I thought we were finished with snow, and the really cold 'stuff '. After all, next weekend the time changes, and Spring is less than 2 weeks away. BUT...in the Midwest we all know that the weather isn't ever predictable!

With 2 inches of snow today, and the promise of 2-4 more tomorrow ~ I had to take a step back in my mind and find a soup recipe for supper. I've looked for a long time for a chicken tortilla soup but never landed on one to try. I stumbled on a Rachael Ray recipe over my lunch hour, and decided to give it a whirl. I changed a few things, but I WILL try it again, thought it was good!

Oh, and FYI this isn't a soup to throw together in a hurry ~ unless you have another pair of hands to help out!

TORTILLA SOUP

1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 red bell pepper
1 pound chicken breast
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
1 small zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes 28oz
1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz
3-4 cups chicken stock
shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro, **tortilla strips for garnish

The recipe called for a grill pan, and since I don't have one, I used my George Foreman grill to roast the corn and red pepper. Char them just to the point they are turning color, watch them so you don't over do it. Cool and dice peppers into small pieces.

While vegetables cook, dice chicken. Add 2 Tbsp oil to a soup pot, add chicken and season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown chicken, then add zucchini, onions, garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook another 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken stock. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to med low. Add corn and red pepper and cook another 5 minutes.

It's ready to serve! Garnish each serving with cheese, sour cream, cilantro and tortilla strips.

**To make tortilla strips cut flour tortillas in 1/2" strips and bake in a 350* oven for about 5 minutes. Don't walk away, they will burn quickly! I used a pizza cutter to cut them, and spread them out so they didn't touch on a large pan. They get crispy and you can break them into bite size pieces in your bowl.