Brainless chicken tortilla soup for when you’re too tired to cook

I like cooking, but sometimes I’m just too tired after getting home from work. This chicken tortilla soup is my go-to recipe when I’m exhausted and want something delicious and healthy, but don’t want to work too hard or go out to eat. I like that I can keep most of the canned ingredients on hand in the cupboard and just need to buy fresh peppers and chicken. It’s also easy to make vegan by omitting the chicken and using veggie broth instead!

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper
1-4 jalapenos
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
~56 oz chicken broth
~28 oz canned diced tomatoes
~16 oz canned tomato sauce
~16 oz canned black beans
~16 oz canned corn
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder

Directions:

1. Chop up your bell peppers and jalapenos.
2. Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a large pot. Saute the veggies in there for about five minutes. (Note: you can also chop up and add a small onion and a few cloves of garlic at this step, but I omit those due to allergies and it’s still yummy.)
3. Open all the cans!
4. Drain and rinse the beans and corn.
5. Add everything to the pot and bring it to a boil.
6. After boiling for 15 minutes, fish out the chicken breasts and shred them. (Two forks works well.) # Put the chicken back in and simmer for 45 minutes.

That’s it! When you’re ready to eat, top with your whatever you want but some things you might try are crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, diced avocado, or sour cream. Or all of the above!

My biggest beef with leftovers is that they just don’t taste right after being reheated. That is NOT the case with this soup. Keep it in the fridge, pop a bowl of it in the microwave for a minute or two, add some toppings, and it’s still just as good.