White Chicken Tortilla Soup

"Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor."

~Marge Kennedy

This is basically a hybrid of white chicken chili and tortilla soup.  The result was delicious and satisfying. Warm and fresh at the same time.  Take the time to make the garnishes.  The fresh bite, color and flavor are a tantalizing foil to the creamy broth, chicken and white beans.  They take the soup from really good, to fantastic!  We all agreed on that.  This soup is easy enough for a weeknight, but good enough to share with friends.  A nice winter meal to warm you up without weighing you down! 

At serving time, place a small pile of 5-6 tortilla chips in the bottom of each bowl, top with shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, ladle the hot soup over all then garnish with fresh avocado, chopped tomato and chopped red onion or scallions and a couple more crushed tortilla chips, if you wish.

White Chicken Tortilla Soup
A recipe from The Irish Mother


3 boneless chicken breast halves (approx 1 pound) or 1 small rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 14 ounce cans chicken broth
2 15 ounce cans cannellini or northern white beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn
1 4.5  ounce can chopped green chilies, do NOT drain
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
8 ounces cream cheese, softened


Garnish:


1 medium size bag of good tortilla chips
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion or sliced scallions
1/2 cup finely diced tomato
1 ripe avocado, diced 
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (sprinkle on avocado, to prevent browning)


Cut chicken into small, bite-size pieces.  In a large skillet on med-high, saute chicken in one tablespoon olive oil.  towards end of cooking, add onion and celery.  For last minute or two, add garlic.  Remove from heat.


Pour chicken broth into a large stockpot.  Add cooked chicken.  Simmer for 1/2 hour to tenderize the chicken (unless you used rotisserie, then you can skip this step.)   Add remaining ingredients except for cream cheese and garnishes, bring to a boil, then simmer for 1/2 hour.  A few minutes before serving, place cream cheese in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds to melt it.  Whisk melted cream cheese into soup.  Heat for a few more minutes.


Place a small pile of tortilla chips in the bottom of each bowl.   Top with a small handful of the cheddar cheese.  Prepare garnishes.  Ladle soup into bowls.  If desired, crush a couple more tortilla chips over soup then sprinkle on some tomato, avocado and onion.  Enjoy!