20 minute homemade chicken tortilla (dump) soup.

I was so frustrated yesterday when I could not locate my favorite chicken tortilla soup recipe that my mom had shared with me awhile back, but I learned something from the experience of not having a recipe to follow....you cannot mess up chicken tortilla soup! I am going to try to tell you what I did below, but just remember that you can taste along the way to see what you want to add. I'd love to know any tips or variations! I just started with my base and worked from there. 

INGREDIENTS: 

3 cups of boiling water

2 tbsp. of chicken bouillon (I have it in the powder form, but you could use 2 cubes or 2 tbps of the Better the Bouillon stuff.

1/4 cup of masa

1 tsp of garlic, minced

1/2 medium-size yellow onion, chopped

2 cups of crushed tomatoes

1 can of Rotel (mild or medium depending upon your preference of hotness)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsps ground cumin 

1/2 bag of frozen corn

1 can of black beans

1 chicken breast, shredded (I cooked the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes on 375 degrees F earlier in the day)

1 cup of monterey jack cheese, shredded 

1/4 cup of half-and-half (if you like it creamy) 

DIRECTIONS

Dump it all in and heat it up (kidding! but I seriously just added each ingredient as I went making it up along the way)

So for real...here's how I did it.

Start by boiling your water on high heat and when the water comes to a boil add the chicken bouillon and stir. When the bouillon is completely dissolved, continue to boil and add the minced garlic and onions. Allow to boil for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the onions to soften. Then, turn your eye down to medium to medium high heat and allow time to stop boiling. 

Once it has stopped boiling, add your masa; continue to stir while adding so that your masa doesn't form clumps. Then, add the Rotel and crushed tomatoes. Add salt and cumin to taste (I gave measurements but you should add gradually and taste as you add). 

Next, add your corn and black beans and chicken. Return to medium high heat and allow all of the ingredients to "marry." Stir occasionally so that the bottom doesn't stick.

After the soup has simmered for a little while, stir in your cheese according to your desired level of cheesiness; and then add the half-and-half if you like it creamy. 

It only takes about 20 minutes to make this soup and it turned out soooo good! I was definitely pleased after a very busy day and evening of running errands. 

Enjoy!