Yummy Chicken Tortilla Soup Sans the Tortilla

It's freezing down here in Texas! Literally the high is 28 degrees today! What's better to keep warm inside and out than soup? Absolutely nothing. This girl loves soup! I love them all - well mostly all. But I digress. My favorite soup ever is chicken tortilla without the tortilla chips. I've actually only found one restaurant that makes it to my liking. However, mine's better!! Seriously, it's delicious, cheap, easy and doesn't suck up too much of your valuable time. I have experimented with this recipe for years - yes years; It has literally taken me years to master this soup. I know that's sad but I'm super picky and was looking for a very distinct flavor. One day, I decided to try something I had never tried before...adding a can of diced tomatoes. It was just what I had been missing. I didn't want a bunch of chunks of tomatoes floating around so I smashed them up with a smasher - potato smasher or bean smasher. I don't really know it's proper name anymore. It turned out perfectly. Just the right flavor that I was looking for. I made a really big pot of soup and took it for Sunday lunch with the family and everyone loved it. I didn't even end up with leftovers! When I found myself with some unexpected free time today, I figured why not make some soup for dinner tonight?

Ingredients needed:

• 8 bone in, skinless chicken thighs - you can use boneless, but it's not the same...

• cooking oil

• garlic, minced

• onions, diced

• 8 cups chicken stock (or broth – whatever floats your boat)

• 1 can of diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained with liquid reserved

• 2 zucchini, sliced

• a handful of rice (1/2 to 3/4 cup depending your mood)

• Monterrey jack cheese

• avocado, sliced

• salt, pepper, creole seasoning

Here's my winning recipe:

Start by browning the seasoned chicken in a little oil in a hot pan.

Cook it until it is carmelized on both sides - about 5 minutes or so per side. If the chicken is attached to the bottom of the pan, it's not ready to flip. Remove the chicken once all sides have been browned.

Throw in diced onion, then the garlic and seasoning. Once these are nice and soft, add the diced tomatoes and chilies and more seasoning.

After everything is nice and warm smash the veggie mixture until the tomatoes are crushed. Pour in the reserved tomato liquid to deglaze the pan and pick up all of those yummy caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan from the chicken. Once the pan has been deglazed, add the chicken stock and bring it to a slow bubble. Add the chicken back in and cook until it is cooked through - about 30 minutes. Next, take the chicken out of the soup, let it cool enough to handle, then debone and shred it. Add the uncooked rice to the pot and cover with a lid while you are cooling, deboning and shredding your chicken. If you want to skip this step, a very delicious alternative is to add spanish rice to the bottom of your bowl before adding the soup. Put the shredded chicken back in the soup, add the zucchini and simmer for about 10 minutes. Check on the zucchini after about 7 minutes. You don't want overcooked zucchini in your soup. It just turns to mush. Serve with sliced avocado and Monterrey jack cheese. If you want an extra little kick, serve with shredded pepper jack. Careful though, this soup is already on the spicy side! Of course, if you are one of those people that like the shreds of tortilla in their tortilla soup - now would be the time to add those in. I hope you enjoy my version of chicken tortilla soup! Feel free to let me know what you think! This girl is off to share her soup. After all, sharing is caring. :)

Until next time...Good luck in all that you do and God bless!​!