This tortilla soup, garnished with avocado, cheese and cilantro was so good! I am definitely making this again.

I loved tasting this while it was cooking…

We used leftover chicken for the soup from a rotisserie chicken we made on the grill.  Will post this chicken recipe at some point, as it worked extremely well. We had never used a mechanical spit arm for our gas grill outside, and it worked beautifully in cooking the rotisserie chicken.  Thank God Roy loaded the chicken on the spit! I ended up only getting half a chicken, so Roy tied in on there firmly, and it didn’t fall off.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Adapted from by a recipe by Joanna Gaines

Serves 8

3 32 ounce containers chicken broth or stock

1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes with jalapeños (just use diced tomatoes if you don’t want the kick)

1 finely chopped red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (can add more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (add more to taste)

Shredded chicken from rotisserie chicken (we had the chicken for dinner the night before, and I just used the rest for the soup or you could use the meat from the whole rotisserie chicken that you purchase at the store (or use leftovers after you have the chicken for dinner.)

1 package Mexican rice mix

1 tsp ground cumin

1 T olive oil

1 15 oz can corn kernels (optional)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

For garnish

Crumbled tortilla chips

1/4 cup chopped cilantro 

Shredded Mexican cheese

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into pieces

Heat olive oil in large soup pot over fairly high heat; add onions and saute several minutes; add garlic and stir for one to two minutes; add can of diced tomatoes and jalapeños and let simmer for a minute. 

Combine and stir broth, corn (if using), tomatoes/jalapenos, salt and pepper in soup pot over high heat; bring to boil. Reduce to medium low and add shredded chicken. Simmer until heated through.

Stir in the rice mix. Add cumin, and cook until rice is tender, 20-30 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of the fresh cilantro about 10-15 minutes before the soup is done.

Garnish with crumbled tortilla chips, cilantro, avocado and shredded Mexican cheese.

Store in refrigerator for four days or freeze. Tip for reheating:  the rice will have absorbed a lot of liquid, so add more chicken stock to desired consistency when reheated.