The weather this week has mostly been incredible – sunny, breezy and highs in the low 60s. It’s November – and this is Chicago! My husband and I took a 9 mile walk along the lakefront yesterday and ran into the New Zealand All Blacks and the Irish rugby team fans heading for a championship game at Soldier Field. Ireland won. Rugby. Who knew?

Today is another gorgeous day and I don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking, but I do want something to top off an incredible week. After a stunning win by the Cubs and an all-out citywide party something bland just wasn’t going to cut it. I decided to make a chicken tortilla soup. I had made one last week for the first time and while it showed promise, it just was lacking. So what follows is my version.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons neutral vegetable oil like a Canola oil

2 small or 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped into a small dice

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 large jalapenos (about 2 Tablespoons) , finely chopped

6 cups of chicken stock

14.5 ounce can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

26.5 ounce (or two 14.5 ounce cans) black beans, drained and rinsed well

15.5 ounce can corn kernels, preferably fire roasted or about 2 cups (you can use frozen or fresh corn if you prefer)

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3 medium size breasts)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 teaspoons chili powder (I like the one from Rancho Gordo)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon oregano leaves

Juice of 2 fresh limes

1 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

2 flour tortillas (I used whole wheat) cut into thin strips and fried in 2 Tablespoons of oil (I used Grapeseed oil because of its neutral taste and high burning point)

Lime wedges for garnish

Jalapeno slices from a jar or can (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium stockpot. Add the onions and cook until softened and just beginning to brown at the edges.
2. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook for another minute
3. Add the tomatoes, spices and salt and stir through. Then add the beans and the stock.
4. Bring to a boil and add the chicken. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 25 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, carefully remove it from the pot. Shred it using 2 forks to pull the meat apart. This is much easier to do if the meat is hot. Once the chicken cools, it becomes more firm and shredding is more difficult.
5. Add the lime juice and corn to the pot and add back the chicken. The soup can be prepared ahead up to this point. When ready to serve, heat everything all the way through. Garnish with the avocado, cilantro, cheese, tortilla strips and lime wedges. If you want a bit more heat, you can add some sliced jalapenos from a jar or can.