Monday, August 6, 2007

Mexican Chicken Soup

This is my adaption of a favorite Mexican treat, Chicken Tortilla Soup. This version has hardly any fat and is very low in calories. It is also VERY easy to make.
Start out with a medium sized soup pan on medium heat. Add about 1 tbsp olive oil and sautee 1/2 large white onion, 3 celery stalks and 2 carrots, all diced and sliced as thin as you can. Let these ingredients soften somewhat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add 1 can of DelMonte Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes with Jalepeno and 1 can chicken stock. Let come to a boil. Add to that 2 chicken breasts (on the bone is best, but boneless would work too) without the skin. Make sure you submerge the chicken in the soup mixture. Cover and turn down the heat to low. Let this cook on low for a while. When I made it today, I let it cook for about 1 hour. The longer the better because the chicken gets so soft, it literally falls off the bone.
After 1 hour, remove the chicken from the pot and place in a bowl or plate. Using a fork, shred the chicken off the bone. This should be so easy to do. If for any reason the chicken feels tough or isn't coming off easily, just put it back in the pot and let simmer for longer, its no big deal, it'll fall apart eventually. After removing the chicken meat, place back into the soup pot and add 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans. Add as much cliantro as you wish, stir the soup, and its ready to eat. It should fill 4-6 bowls depending on how large the serving.
This soup is very hearty and doesn't have much broth. If you'd rather it have more liquid, just add another can of chicken broth. I did not add any seasoning to this soup to keep it as low sodium as possible. Add some hot sauce or cayenne pepper to increase the heat.
I ate this as is, but adding tortilla chips, cheese, avacado slices or even over rice would make it that much better. Enjoy and hopefully this will satisfy all your Mexican cravings without any guilt!

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