Vegan Mofo #5 Chicken Chipotle Tortilla Soup

I'm usually pretty good about having dinner planned early in the day. So much so that my husband has called me crazy for calling him at 8:30 in the morning to spew off a list of dinner options for him to pick from. My excuse though, is I'm Italian and was brought up to always be thinking about food.
We are both on the broke side right now, so I wanted to make something that didn't require spending a lot or better yet, any money at all. After looking through our kitchen at what we had, I came up with a chicken tortilla soup. It turned out amazing. I reminded myself that sometimes the best recipes are created when you are forced to just use what you have. Here is a step by step of the process with a recipe to follow.


red pepper, garlic, green onion, and carrots


green onion and garlic cooking sauteing in olive oil with chili powder, cumin & smoked paprika



red peppers & carrots tossed in and sauteing



half a bag of trader joe's chicken-less strips ready to go in the pot along with the book I log recipes in



chicken and veggies all together


a random can of fire roasted tomatoes with chipotle peppers went in as well as a half a can of leftover black beans


whole wheat tortilla cut into strips


final product

Chicken Chipotle Tortilla Soup
4 garlic cloves
3 green onions + 1 for garnish
1/2 red pepper
1 carrot
1/2-1 bag trader joe's chicken-less strips chopped
1 can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Petite Diced Tomatoes With Chipotle Peppers
1/2 can black beans
1 1/3 cup veggie broth
3 tsp cumin
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp lime juice
1 tortilla

-Preheat oven to 325
-Saute garlic & green onion with one tsp of cumin, chili powder & smoked paprika
-When translucent add red peppers & carrots & continue to stir till tender
-Add chicken-less strips and a splash of lime and cook until chicken is browned on all sides
-Turn heat down and stir in the tomatoes,vegetable broth,black beans,the remaining spices & lime juice
- Let simmer on stove while making baked tortilla chips
- Slice tortilla into strips with a pizza cutter and sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a cookie sheet
- Bake for 4 minutes then flip. They cook pretty quick so keep your eye on them
- Crush half and fold into hot soup and use the rest for garnish & dipping

Next time you MoFo's are broke, remember, there is always something you can throw together.