Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (I just did water with chicken bouillon)
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chili peppers (Rotel)
• 2 cans of beans (I did one black bean and one great northern bean, but it doesn't really matter)
• 1 can of corn (drained) (I did one quart bag of home-frozen corn)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
• heaping 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• heaping 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

1. Combine the chicken broth, green chilies, tomatoes with green chilies, beans, corn, onion, and garlic in a soup pot. Add the shredded chicken. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
2. Add the lime juice, cilantro, cayenne, and cumin. Simmer for 10-15 minutes longer.
3. Ladle the soup into bowls.  Garnish with shredded Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Tomato Soup and Toasted Cheese Sandwiches

This is what we had last night for dinner and it was delicious as always.  I got this recipe for homemade tomato soup from my sister, Jill.  It is one of Mike's favorites.  Thanks, sis!

3 quarts tomatoes- peeled and blended
1/3 C sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp celery salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil then add:

1 cube butter melted with 1/2 cup flour

Cook until thick.

*Note:  This makes a lot of soup, so I usually half the recipe for just the two of us.