Chicken Tortilla SoupThis is delicious and so easy. I like to serve it with Nopales tortillas chips

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is delicious and so easy. I like to serve it with Nopales tortillas chips they sell on Saturdays at my farmers market. These green cactus paddle chips are yum! And the ladies who sell them always tell me how healthy they are. I love that they’ve convinced me to eat chips and salsa in order to get healthier.

I used leftover chicken on the bones to make this rich broth. I used 1 Breast and 1 leg and thigh piece. Place leftover roasted chicken in a soup pot, add water to cover along with chopped onions, carrots, celery, diced parsnips, red bell pepper, 4 peeled and smashed garlic cloves, chopped parsley, salt and pepper, 1 or 2 whole tomatoes, cored, a pinch of thyme or Italian seasoning, a small sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a big sprinkle of smoked paprika.

Simmer on low, you don’t want it to get foamy. Skim any fat that accumulates. After about 1 hour of simmering the broth is nice and rich. Remove the chicken and take the meat off the bones, chop or shred it, add the meat back to the pot. Remove the tomatoes, peel off the tomato skins, chop them up and add them back to the pot. Stir and taste for seasoning, Add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with organic corn tortilla chips (these add salt too, so season/ don’t over salt the broth, accordingly), a squeeze of fresh lemon, (our Meyer lemon tree is loaded with lemons, my favorite time of year!) chopped avocado, and grated cheese. Yum!