Chicken Tortilla Soup

So another healthy recipe. I've made Mexican food a lot this week. I think it's healthy because the spices give it the flavor. This soup was good, but I wasn't full afterwards. I desperately wanted to make brownies! So much for cooking healthy! I haven't made it to the kitchen to make them yet. I might make it through the night without them...MIGHT! This soup was a little bland. I wonder if this has to do with the fact that I used cumin seeds instead of ground cumin.

This recipe was in the section of the cookbook titled "Relax while it cooks." This couldn't have been further from the truth for me tonight! I'm not saying that it will be for you though! First, it took me forever to chop my veggies! My food chopper wasn't cooperating and I reverted back to my trusty old knife and cutting board! Then, I realized I didn't have any chicken broth! Ugh! I always make my grocery list off of my menu for the week and somehow I missed this one! Luckily, Charlie worked from home today and he ran to Harris Teeter for me! Then...I was misreading the recipe. I thought she said to use a crock pot, which I thought was strange...and my chicken wasn't cooking in the 4 minutes it was supposed to. So 2 1/2 hours later we ate! At least I got some cleaning done during that 2 1/2 hours. AND! As I type this recipe I realize that this was supposed to have cheese in it! How did I miss that as well! I think I need to go to bed...obviously my brain isn't working today!

Charlie and I both put the cheese on our soup for lunch leftovers and found it much better!

My healthy tip I learned this time...when cooking veggies cook them in a pan sprayed with nonstick spray instead of oil. It worked wonders and saved calories!

Here's the breakdown on the healthy aspects of this recipe:

• Bake the tortillas instead of frying them


• Using reduced fat cheese, and less of it


• Eliminating the oil for cooking veggies

Calories before...402
after...275

Fat before...20
after...4

Per serving...serves 6


Chicken Tortilla Soup
Source: More Healthy Homestyle Cooking

6 corn tortillas (6" diameter)
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 C fat-free chicken broth
10 oz frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3 tomatoes, chopped (we only used 1)
6 T shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 375. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Cut the tortillas in half and then in short strips. Lay in a single layer on the baking sheet. Spray lightly with nonstick spray. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Coat a large pot with nonstick spray and warm over medium-low heat. Add the chicken, peppers, carrots, onion, and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes or the chicken isn't pink. Add the broth, corn and cumin. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low and cook for 30 minutes.

Place a layer of tomatoes in a bowl. Scatter tortilla strips on top. Ladle the soup on top. Top with more tortilla strips and cheese.