Serves 8

Ingredients:
4 cups (1 quart, or 32 oz) chicken broth
2 (10 oz) cans of white meat chunk chicken breast
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
1 can (10 oz) mild RoTel tomatoes with green chilies
1 can (16 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can (10 oz) shoepeg or whole kernel corn, drained
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1 packet of mild taco seasoning
2 Tbsp chili powder (adjust to taste)
2 cups water, divided
2 cups Mexican cheese blend, divided into 1/4 cup servings per bowl
1 Tbsp butter
2 tortillas, browned and sliced into strips, or tortilla chips

Directions:
1. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a covered Dutch oven or large stock pot over medium high heat
2. Stir and saute onion in the melted butter until translucent, about four minutes
3. Add chicken broth, 1 cup water, tomatoes, corn, and beans, stirring to combine
4. Drain water from the cans of chicken breast into the pot
5. Break up the large pieces of chicken breast stirring small chunks into the soup base
6. Add chili powder and taco seasoning to a cup of water, mix well, add to pot
7. Once the soup reaches a bubbling, steaming, boil, reduce heat to medium low
8. Simmer for 1- 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally
9. Line the bottom of soup bowls with 1/4 cup cheese; gently ladle hot soup on top and garnish with tortilla strips or chips. Sprinkle with extra cheese, if desired.

This recipe is for the busy among us, who don’t want to spend a whole day creating a made-from-scratch masterpiece. This soup matches the fragrance and flavor, and is great for entertaining. It is also one of those dishes that taste better the next day, and reheats well, so make extra! Notice that we don’t add any salt, since we are using canned products, there is usually already enough salt, but adjust the flavor to suit your tastebuds. You can also add spicy heat to suit.