Healthy 21 Day Fix Approved Chicken Tortilla Soup

In Houston, we keep getting glimmers of fall...but then the temps climb to 90 and we take the kiddo to the splash pad AGAIN...in October. I threw a fit last night and stomped my feet and finally did something I've wanted to do for a while....make this amazing HEALTHY Chicken Tortilla Soup I'd heard SO MANY good things about. And y'all...alllllll the things were so true!!!

Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
8 corn tortillas, divided use
EVOO
1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
6 cups chicken stock (low sodium or homemade)
1 tspn chile powder
1/2 tspn chipotle chile powder
1/2 tspn oregano
2 1/2 cups shredded chicken (I made crockpot verde salsa chicken last week--worked great here!)
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (divided use)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Toppings: cheese (I loved feta on this!), avocado

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice tortillas into strips and lay on a foil lined baking sheets. Spritz with a little cooking spray and bake for 4-5 minutes, then stir to flip a bit. Bake for another 4-5 minutes (or until crispy).

Heat EVOO in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, poblano, and celery for 5-6 minutes (until softened a bit). Stir in garlic and cook for another 60 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have softened. Place tomato/onion mixture in a blender (or food processor) with 2 cups of the stock and half of the tortilla strips. Blend until smooth.

Return blended mixture to soup pan and stir in chicken, carrots remaining broth, and spices. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 15-20 minutes until carrots have softened. Stir in 1/4 cup of cilantro (save remaining for a topping) and green onions.

Serve topped with cilantro, avocado, cheese, and remaining tortilla strips.

(Serving size = 1.5 cups and according to the cookbook, equals 3 green--I don't believe that, lol--1 yellow, 1 red, and 1 1/2 blue (if topped with cheese and avocado)

{recipe adapted from Autumn Calabrese's cookbook, FIXATE}