Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love Mexican food, especially Tortilla Soup.  So, I was really excited when I found this recipe!  I made a few modifications to make it even healthier and it still tastes great!  (This recipe is based off of Emeril's Favorite Tortilla Soup recipe).

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Yields 4 servings

Weight Watchers Points: 3 points per serving

(calculation does not include avacado)

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped, or green bell pepper and 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 cups organic, lower sodium chicken stock (I use Swanson's)
*1 pound chicken breast, cooked and prepared as directed below 
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (more if desired)

Chipotle Crema, recipe below

1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped, for garnish (optional)

Spray a Dutch oven or large heavy pot, with Olive Oil cooking spray.  Heat pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, garlic, peppers, salt, and cumin for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and lime juice, and stir well. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.


Chipotle Crema 

Weight Watchers points: 1 point for entire recipe!

Note: I substitute  Fage non-fat plain Greek yogurt for sour cream.  It's rich like sour cream, fat free, and a good source of protein

1/2 cup Fage 0%  plain Greek yogurt 

1 teaspoon chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/8 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients. Process on high speed until smooth. Serve with the soup.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Note: Chicken

I usually use bone in, skin on chicken breasts for all of my chicken recipes. I learned this from the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. The meat is much more tender this way.  (But, I do remove the skin before using).  Plus, these are almost always on sale.  I just bought some for 99 cents a pound at Winn Dixie.

For this recipe, I rubbed the breasts lightly with olive oil, then seasoned them generously with Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Let cool, remove the skin, and cut the meat off of the bone.  Cut into 1/2 inch cubes.