Deli Roasted Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To become a legendary chicken joke.

Now, what to do with a cooked chicken? Start with a rotisserie grilled chicken (or 2 or 3 if you are ambitiously planning ahead) I don't even cook them myself, I pick one up from the deli.  Usually I buy one labeled lemon pepper basted, but I will use the traditional and even BBQ flavored.

Part I
When you get home and have all the other groceries put away, the chicken is cool enough to handle, so strip all the meat off the bone.  Put the de-boned chicken in a quart size zip lock bag and refrigerate unless you need it for the first meal after shopping!  Now, put the yucky looking bones and skin in a pot and cover with water.  Add  a couple ribs of celery, 1/2 an onion, several carrots, a basil leaf, if you have some parsley-add that along with spices like salt, pepper and basil.  Bring to a simmer for about an hour or so. There will be no meat left on the bones and it will smell heavenly.  Place a colander over another pot and drain the liquid off the chicken.  You now have home made chicken broth. Store it in mason jars in the fridge up to a week or freeze for a couple of months until you're ready to use it.

Part II
Pull out your list of chicken recipes or search Pinterest for something delicious to make with the de-boned chicken.  Here are some of my personal favorites.

Chicken tortilla soup

Chicken taco's

Warm chicken slices on top of salad
Chicken enchilada
Chicken salad
Chicken spaghetti
Chicken with Alfredo Sauce & noodles
Chicken noodle soup
Chicken pot pie
Chicken and rice casserole
Chicken and vegetable stew
oh my... I could go on all evening

Now, here is my favorite, because it's so easy and delicious, Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup

by Jeannie

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: soup/stew Chicken Tortilla Southwest winter fall

6069309

Ingredients (4-6)

• 1 Deli roasted rotisserie chicken, deboned & cut in chunks
• 1 jar tomato based salsa
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2-4 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 sweet onion, finely diced
• 1 bell pepper, finely diced
• 2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• salt
• pepper
• packaged tortilla chips
• grated sharp cheese
• sour cream
• green onion tops, chopped to garnish

Instructions

Put 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large soup pot and turn it on a medium high heat.

Dice the onion, bell pepper and garlic and drop into olive oil. Saute till tender (about 5 minutes).

While the above ingredients saute, remove skin and bones from a deli roasted chicken. Rough chop the chicken to bite size pieces and drop into the soup pot.

Stir in chicken stock.

Add the jar of salsa and use the jar to measure in enough water to cover all the ingredients by about 2". If you like more broth, like I do, add a little more water.

Stir in the cilantro and allow soup to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember the deli chicken is already seasoned, so taste before adding more.

To serve: place a hand full of crisp tortilla chips in bottom of bowl. Ladle in some soup, sprinkle on some grated cheese, a big dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of green onion tops.

Optional: add some sliced avocado and perhaps a few dashes of hot sauce or sliced pickled jalapenos.

Powered by Recipage