Eat Happy: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Happy Belated Friday! I actually got off of work 7 hours ago and could've blogged about this sooner, but when I got to my lovely front door, I realized something. Michael and I forgot about the key swap this morning!... Well, Front Door, it was nice knowing ya. I'll just sit here patiently on the grass slope (looking ridiculous), do some reading, watch a show on Hulu and wait...

For this week's happy eating, it's actually healthy. I stumbled upon this recipe years ago when I was in high school babysitting for a close family friend. Usually when I babysit, I skip dinner and just snack on all the kid food! Goldfish, Fruit by the Foot, Pirate's Booty and could it be that the kids ate Kraft Mac 'n Cheese and I can steal the leftovers? But this time, I slurped and chomped on taco soup as the kids dreamed soundly in their beds. Kid food's go nothing on this stuff!

First things first, the MVP of this stellar, down-home soup are the beans, ranch style beans to be specific. Do not settle for the plain ol' pinto.

Some people use cookbooks. Some people use PowerPoints. Potato, Po-tah-to.

And in less than thirty minutes, dinner is born.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 T Olive oil

1 lg. onion chopped

2 medium carrots chopped

2 T minced garlic

3 C. Lower sodium chicken broth

1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1-15 oz. can ranch style beans (undrained)

1-15 oz. black beans rinsed and drained

1 C frozen or canned corn

1 t. cumin

½ t. black pepper

½ t oregano

½ t chili powder

1/8 t paprika

2 C chopped cilantro

2 cups of chopped cooked chicken (can used canned chicken)

Heat olive oil, carrots and onion for 6 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add chicken broth through spices, increase heat to bring the party to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Once it's all marinated for a while, add the chicken and cilantro until they are heated through. Finally, serve it up with avocado, more cilantro, limes, tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream or anything else that tickles your fancy.

Happy Eating!