Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup

The winter weather just won't let up! I was hoping for nice weather weekend, but Saturday was both cold and windy.  We picked up a dresser from Craigslist on in Jersey City, and the drawers nearly blew other while we were loading the car! Since it's not feeling like spring yet, KK decided to sneak in this hearty soup into the rotation.  Monday's forecast is also calling for snow, so maybe we'll add a few more soups to the menu plan before spring finally arrives!

I only defrosted 0.8lbs of chicken so KK and I were a bit nervous the soup wouldn't be filling enough.  To accompany the soup, I cooked up a side of Chicken Fajita Rice a Roni.  The rice and soup seasonings were a prefect pair.  Once I finished cooking the chicken, I placed it in a mixing bowl and used my hand-mixer to shred it.  Going the hand-mixer route was much easier than shredding the chicken with a fork! I almost skipped the tortilla chips, but KK insisted and I'm glad he did - they were a nice, crispy topping for each bowl!

Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from Eat Yourself Skinny
Serves: 2-4
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 tsp. chipotle chile powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (14 oz) can fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
2 (6-inch) tortillas, cut into strips
Cooking spray 

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add minced garlic and shredded chicken; saute for about 2 minutes.  Add chipotle chile powder and cumin; stir well.  Add water, salt, chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place tortilla strips on a baking sheet.  Spray strips with cooking spray and sprinkle with a touch of chipotle chile powder.  Bake at 350 for about 8 to 10 minutes.  Top soup with baked tortilla strips.