Green Chili Chicken Tortilla Soup

Someone made this at a church function last year and I loved it and she gave me the recipe but I've managed to misplace it. So I went searching online to find something similar and I found a great recipe on Group Recipes. It calls for fresh chilies from the garden, but the original recipe I received simply called for a tub of chilies you can buy in the freezer section of the grocery store:

Much simpler. Just make sure you buy the mild variety unless you like a lot of heat. The soup itself is very simple:

But the fun part is adding all the other fresh ingredients:

Clockwise from top left: tortilla strips, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, guacamole, diced tomatoes, and lime quarters. You can use fresh chopped avocado or you can do the easy thing and buy some pre-made guac. I like Wholly Guacamole:


GREEN CHILI CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
adapted from Group Recipes

4 bone-in split chicken breasts with skin
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 white or yellow onion, chopped
1 (13 oz) tub mild green chilies, thawed (or you can use 3 [4 oz] cans of diced green chilies)
8 cups (64 oz) low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

tortilla strips* or crushed tortilla chips
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 (7 oz) pkg. guacamole or 2 avocados, diced
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 limes, cut into quarters

Heat oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Generously sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place, 2 at a time, in pot, skin side down. Brown for 5 minutes then turn and brown for 3 minutes more. Remove from pot and set aside and repeat with other two breasts; remove and set aside.

Add onion to oil and drippings in pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and sweat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While onions cook, remove skin from chicken and discard.

Add green chilies to pot along with broth, cumin, oregano and chicken. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken breasts, shred chicken, and return to pot, discarding bones. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer another 10 minutes.

Serve with tortilla strips, diced tomato, guacamole, green onions, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime as desired.

*To make tortilla strips:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Cut 12 white corn tortillas into thirds:

Then into strips:
Spread evenly on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10, or until lightly brown and crispy.