Chicken Enchilada Soup

A couple of years ago, I had a craving for tortilla soup. The kind we used to get in Mazatlan, Mexico. I haven't seen anything quite like it here in the good ol' US. So, I put this soup together to try and capture those flavors. While it won't ever be genuine Mexican tortilla soup, it's really, really good.

Ingredients (for 4 people):

• 4 Frozen chicken breasts (really, you may use any kind of shredded chicken meat you prefer such as chicken thighs or a rotisserie chicken)
• 2 small cans Old El Paso mild RED enchilada sauce (or more if you like it hot)
  
• Chicken broth (this is where you can make the soup as spicy or mild as you like. More broth = less spice. I add enough broth to at least cover the chicken. Then, I take a sniff of the soup mix. If it smells really spicy, I add water to help dilute. Remember, too, you want enough liquid to actually have soup when you're done. So, you've got to add enough water and broth to have lots left after all of the boiling. Trust me, it's easy. Just eyeball it. After you make this one time, you'll know exactly what you like and it'll get easier every time.)
• Corn starch
  
• Shredded cheese (whatever you like - Jack, jack/cheddar mix, pepper jack or smoked mozzarella work well)
• Tortilla chips
  

Optional garnish:
Lime
Cilantro
Sour Cream

Cooking instructions:

• Put the frozen chicken in the pot, add enchilada sauce, broth and water. Bring to a boil. Boil until chicken is really, really tender (I throw it in there and let it simmer all afternoon sometimes. If you cook away too much broth, just add some more of whatever you want to bring the volume back up.)
• Once the chicken is cooked through, use a slotted spoon to remove from pot, shred. Just so you know, it takes me about 10-15 minutes to finish the soup from this point so it really isn't as hard as it may sound.

• You'll have broth in the pot. Bring it back up to a rolling boil. In a small container or measuring cup, mix a couple of tablespoons of corn starch with cold water to use to thicken. Make sure to whisk well with a fork so you don't get any lumps.
  
• Slowly add thickening mixture to boiling broth. Add a little bit at a time to avoid making it too thick. Add some, let boil for a minute, see if it's thick enough, then add more if you need. You can add as much or as little as you like without altering the flavor. (I usually add about a 1/4 cups worth or less of this mixture so like, 3-4 tablespoons corn starch and enough water to thin.)
• Once it's as thick as you like, add chicken back in. I don't usually add all of the chicken. It just depends on how meaty you want your soup. I save some chicken for burritos, salad, chimichangas, etc.

• Put crushed tortilla chips (or you can use those strip things) and cheese in the bottom of bowl.
• Pour soup on top. Add a little more cheese, squeeze a little lime juice on top, garnish with some finely chopped cilantro and sour cream and eat! (Um, I don't like sour cream and I didn't have lime or cilantro for the pics so sorry. Still tasted awesome.)