Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup

Well its Superbowl XLVIII today and everyone's excited for the big game. For me its just another day to pig out. I love all the snacks, junk food and a good drink. Every Superbowl my husband and I usually stay at home but a buddy at work invited us over, plus my hubby has been raving about me being a chef at work. So what to make, I honestly didn't have any idea. I know I was in the mood for some chicken tortilla soup this weekend so why not for the party. I also will be making a Strawberry Lemon Poppy Trifle, recipe Here. The Chicken tortilla Soup can be done 2 ways, in the crock-pot or on the stove. I was gonna save this recipe for crock-pot week, so enjoy.

Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup

Makes 8-10 Hearty Servings

Ingredients:

• 2-2.5 lbs of Chicken(I used 2 breast/4 Chicken thighs . . .they were tiny thighs)
• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil + more for cooking with
• 3 tsp Ground Cumin
• 3 tsp Chili Powder
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 3 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp Cayenne
• 1 Med Red Onion Chopped
• 1 Small Green Bell Pepper Chopped
• 1 Small Red Bell Pepper Chopped
• 3 tsp minced Garlic( or 3 garlic cloves grated)
• 4 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 32oz Chicken Broth(low sodium)
• about 3 cups Hot water
• 3-4 Large Roma Tomatoes(for roasting) OR 1 14oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 large Green Chile's(for roasting) OR 1 4oz can Mild Green Chile's
• 2 med Ears of Sweet Corn OR 14 oz can Corn
• Optional: 2 15 oz can Black Beans drained and rinsed
• 3 Tbsp Cornmeal
• 5 Corn Tortillas, Cut into 1/2" Strips

Garnishes of your Choice:

• Shredded Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Avocado
• Diced Tomato
• Cilantro
• Diced Red Onion                                   
• Fried Tortilla Strips(different colors make a fun garnish)

Directions:

(If your not roasting/baking your own tomato/corn just skip directions)

Peel corn husk a few layers, soak in cold water. 

Put chicken in a bowl. Put tomatoes in a bowl. 

Mix cumin, Chili powder, garlic powder, salt, cayenne. 

Put 2 Tbsp of spice mix(reserve rest of spice mix for later) and 2 Tbsp olive oil on chicken. Mix well. 

Put tomatoes in a bowl, mix with 1 tsp spice mix and 1 Tbsp of olive oil. 

Roasting on the Grill:

Heat grill to high heat. For chicken your just basically getting the grill the marks, doesn't matter if its cooked all the way. Just make sure its grilled on the outside. 

After chicken done, grill tomatoes about 6-8 minutes getting a nice char on the outside. Once cooled dice. 

Grill green chiles whole till burnt on the outside. Put in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 5 minutes. 

Peel, deseed, and chop in to small pieces. Grill the corn as well for 8 minutes, pull off grill, peel off rest of husks and grill to get nice char. Once corn is done, use flavored oil from bottom of tomato bowl to season out side of corn.

 Once cooled, cut corn off cob using Bobby Flay's method or probably alot of chefs do it. Using a big bowl and a tiny bowl upside down, inside the big bowl. You can cut corn right into bowl without making a mess.

Baking in the Oven

Heat oven to 400 degrees, spray 2 sheet pans or cover with foil. Place chicken on one and tomato/corn/green chile on the other. Roast for 20-25 minutes. For green chiles same as above; put in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 5 minutes. Peel, deseed, and chop in to small pieces. Can shred chicken right now if you like or do later.

Method 1-Crockpot

Put all chopped onion, roasted diced tomatoes, peppers, green chiles, tomato paste, broth in crockpot and stir together.

 Add chicken, if adding black beans add now. I usually add hot water just to cover chicken. So if you more soup like add all 3 cups, more meaty 2 cups. 

Make paste with cornmeal and some warm water. Add to crockpot.

 Let cook(4-5 hour on high, 6-8 hours on low). 30 minutes before done cooking, add corn, shred chicken, check seasoning(add salt or more cayenne for kick). 

Method 2-StoveTop

Using pot heat oil using med heat. Add onions, peppers and cook 3 minutes or till onions translucent. Add garlic, stir. Add rest of spice mix and chicken, mix well. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, water, green chiles, and black beans if adding. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer 10-15 minutes. Make cornmeal paste, add to soup. Add corn as well. Simmer 15-30 minutes more, check seasoning(add salt or more cayenne for kick). Turn off heat.

You can add corn tortilla strips at this point or fry them up and serve as a fun crunchy topping.

Ladle up and Serve. Top with your favorite toppings. Enoy

Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup by NikkieDidIt