Chicken Tortilla Chili (Soup)

Growing up, my mom always made tortilla soup in a crock pot. I wanted to recreate it, but since I don't have a crock pot I came up with my own little version. It's a cross between a chicken tortilla soup and chili, because it's loaded with 4 different kinds of beans, and very little broth. I love it because it's filling, healthy, and you can make a lot of it. I garnished it with green onions, greek yogurt with lime(yes, greek yogurt), and cheese. Along side it I made homemade tortilla chips, baked rather than fried, so they're guilt-free.

Chicken Tortilla Chili

Ingredients:

2 cans of black beans (I prefer a mexican brand because it usually has onions and jalapeno

s mixed in)

1 can drained pinto beans

1 can drained kidney beans

1 can drained great northern white beans

1 can drained stewed tomatoes (not italian, mexican if you can find it)

3 cups of chicken broth

cayenne pepper to taste

1 teaspoon of chili powder

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

sriracha to taste

2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces

Salt, pepper

1 lime, juiced

In a large pot, add a drizzle of olive oil and saute chicken pieces lightly seasoned with salt and pepper on medium heat. Lower heat and add chopped garlic, cooking about 1 minute. Add broth, kidney beans, white beans, pinto beans, and stewed tomatoes and bring heat up to medium again. Add one can of drained black beans and empty the other can into a side bowl. Gently mush the black beans in their juice, to create a thick paste (this makes the chili thicker), then add to the pot. Add chili powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper (I prefer a lot!) and if you have it add a squirt of sriracha. Add the juice of one lime and mix. Allow the soup/chili to cook on low for at least an hour, stirring occasionally, to allow the juices to incorporate. You can even add a can of corn of you like!

Spicy Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

corn tortillas

cooking spray (i.e. Pam)

salt

cayenne

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 8 equal triangle pieces out of each corn tortilla (you can even cut out fun shapes!). Spray each piece with cooking spray (both sides), and place them onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and salt and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until light brown and crispy. Watch closely because they burn easily! Once removed from the oven sprinkle with a bit of salt again, then serve.