Now that the holidays are over, I’m back in the swing of things. Back to a regular schedule, no more Christmas baking, and back to a normal (and much healthier) diet. Thank goodness!

Amanda from Fake Ginger selected Texas Tortilla Soup for this week’s Project Pastry Queen.  I changed the name because I quite drastically changed the flavor profile by adding chipotle chilies and using much more chicken stock.

Neither Andy nor I are tomato-based soup fans. With enough tweaking, I knew I could come up with something tasty. Unfortunately, Andy didn’t really care for it but that just means I have more leftovers for lunch the next few days!

The best part of this meal? It’s healthy, so eat up (and don’t add too much cheese)!!!

INGREDIENTS

Soup
4 plum tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 Tbls olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
4 C chicken stock
1 dried ancho or pasilla chili
1 canned chipotle chili
14.5 oz. can whole tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
meat from 1 rotisserie chicken
1 C corn (fresh or frozen)

Garnishes
1 ripe avocado
Tortilla chips or bake strips
1 plum tomato, diced
¼ C cilantro, roughly chopped
½ C cheese (I used the pre-shredded Mexican mix)
Sour cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Slice the tomatoes in half. Spread ½ Tbls of the olive oil on a baking sheet and place tomatoes on sheet, skin side up. Brush top of tomatoes with ½ Tbls olive oil.
2. Roast the tomatoes for 25-35 min until skin is partially peeling off and slightly browned.
3. Heat remaining 1 Tbls olive oil in a heavy-bottomed, soup pot over medium-heat. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for about 5 min.
4. Stir in chili powder and cumin and cook for 1 min.
5. Add chicken stock and ancho chili. Bring to a boil, then cover. Reduce heat. Simmer for 15 min.
6. Remove chili (discard stems if you don’t want the heat). Place chili, chipotle chili, canned tomatoes and juices, and roasted tomato in food processor. Puree for 1 min.
7. Add tomato puree back into soup. Simmer for 1 hour, covered.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Add chicken and corn. Simmer for 5 min.
10. Garnish with avocado, tortilla strips, tomatoes, cilantro, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

NOTES

4 meal-sized servings. This recipe can easily be doubled.

Adapted from The Pastry Queen’s Texas Tortilla Soup.