rotisserie chicken: tortilla soup

Another entry in our rotisserie chicken series. 

We usually save a soup of some sort to use up the last of the chicken. This chicken tortilla version is one of our go-to recipes around here. It’s easy, filling and healthy.

The stock requires a little advance prep (or you could go the store-bought route, but we’re trying to use up every bit of that chicken, so do yourself and your wallet a favor and try to make your own). I like to keep a plastic container in the freezer for stock ingredients…chicken bones/carcass, onion tops and skins, celery tops, carrot peels (check out this post for more stock tips).  I wait until it gets full, and then I know it’s time to make stock. Then I freeze it in small two or four cup batches, which makes this soup a breeze.

The beans also require some advance prep (unless you have a pressure cooker, which makes it quick). If I haven’t thought ahead, I’ll use the pressure cooker. I prefer to soak my beans overnight, and then slow cook them throughout the day because I can season them how I like them, and I think they taste a bit better than the pressure cooker variety (but the pressure cooker is still far superior to the canned beans!). So when I go to the trouble of soaking and slow cooking all day, I make a triple or quadruple batch and then freeze the leftovers in one or two cup containers for really quick, no hassle beans whenever I need them. This is a great trick if you’re trying to eat healthier because beans make a great addition to salads and soups that give you some extra protein and fiber and help you stay feeling fuller longer.

So anyway, the recipe…

Rotisserie chicken soup
A Sara Original

Ingredients

Depending on how much chicken you have leftover – we usually use about one cup of shredded chicken, if that, and we typically save the darker meat for this soup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (optional, depending on the season)
1-2 jalapenos, sliced (optional, depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tsp cumin
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tsp oregano
1 cup beans – our favorites are chickpeas or black beans, but we like it with kidney or pinto beans too (see above notes)
4 cups chicken stock (see above notes)
1 can fire-roasted chopped tomatoes (I like Muir Glen or make your own – I’ll be doing these soon, so I’ll report back!)
1 cup tortilla chips
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat large soup pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and wait until oil begins to shimmer. Add diced onion and peppers (if using). Saute until onions turn translucent. Add garlic and spices and saute just briefly (about 30 seconds). Add chicken and stir around to thoroughly combine ingredients. Add beans, stock and tomatoes. Cook for about twenty to thirty minutes, until soup is slightly thickened.

Crush a handful or tortilla chips in each bowl, and ladle soup over top of tortilla chips. Add additional garnishes of your choice. Serves about eight.