Chicken Tortilla Soup

The inspiration for my Chicken Tortilla Soup came from The Oasis restaurant in Austin. If you're ever in Austin I highly recommend visiting The Oasis. It's a Mexican restaurant set on a hillside overlooking Lake Travis. They have a monstrous patio with lots of outdoor seating. Plus, they have yummy Chicken Tortilla Soup!

My Chicken Tortilla Soup came from taking 2 random recipes & merging them & tweaking them until I had what I believe to be Really Good CTS.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Alison's own creation!

3 Chicken Breasts, boiled & shredded *
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic
1/4 bunch cilantro, stems removed & chopped, about 1/4 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed **
2 cans diced tomato w/chilis, drained ***
4 cans chicken broth
4 bay leaves
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1+ tsp cumin
Crushed tortilla chips
Monterey jack cheese
Avocado

1. Boil Chicken or use leftover chicken pieces.
* I prefer to boil chicken in chicken broth & add that broth into my soup. If you do it's really helpful to have a strainer to get rid of all the floating chunks & foam  
2. In a large pot sauté onion, garlic & cilantro in EVOO over med-low heat.
3. Incorporate beans & tomatoes. Add broth & spices, simmer 20 minutes.
** Empty black beans into a colander & rinse well. Unrinsed beans means muddy soup.
*** If you prefer a more tomato-based broth do not drain tomato cans.
4. Add chopped/shredded chicken. Simmer a little longer.
5. When serving add avocado slices, crushed chips, & Monterey Jack cheese to bowls.

The original recipes- proudly splattered & frequently used!

I'm not a big soup fan but I do really enjoy my Chicken Tortilla Soup. I hope you get a chance to try it or even merge my recipe with another & have your own Chicken Tortilla Soup!

~ Alison