Recipe: Tara Lynn's Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Optional toppings: avocado, cheese, tortilla chips

1) Heat oil in a large pot and saute diced onion.

2) Remove meat from the bone of the rotisserie chicken and dice.

3) Dice garlic and saute for about one minute with onion. Then add in the chicken.

3) Add all of the spices and let the chicken absorb all of the flavors for a few minutes. You may need to add a bit of the chicken broth to keep things moist.

4) Add corn and diced tomatoes and stir well on medium heat.

5) This is the perfect time to open the cans of beans and rinse and drain them. Then add to the pot.

6) Add most of the chicken broth and let the soup simmer for five minutes or until everything is warm.

NOTE: I buy a 32-oz carton of chicken broth and use about 2/3 of it to start. Depending on how thick you want your soup, you can add more or less, however, wait until after you add the sour cream and heavy cream.

7) Finally, mix in the sour cream and heavy cream.

This soup/chili has some kick and my kids love the spice. The first time you make it, consider buying diced tomatoes and a can of chilis separately. You can make it without the diced green chilis altogether and still enjoy some kick from the cumin and spices.

We love to use Tostitos Scoops with this soup. They are great to crumble on top to add some crunch or use them as a spoon!

Most recipes call for you to cut and cook your own chicken. Using rotisserie chicken has been our go-to now for years for any recipe requiring diced chicken. If you bought it a day or two prior to making this recipe, put it in the microwave for a minute to take the chill off before cutting. It makes it so much easier.

Look for cans that have pop tops. Need I say more.

Keep the extra chicken broth on hand as stews, soups, and chilis generally thicken up the next day. This way you can add some broth if you want to thin it out a bit.