Months ago, I sent out a Twitter request for a tried and true Chicken Tortilla Soup. I’d tried a number of online recipes but never found one I liked. My long-time friend Sasha Knight, editor extraordinaire, came to the rescue and emailed me her recipe. It’s…fabulous.A? The recipe below is exactly as she sent it to me and she said I could share it with you. You should make it, it’s really delicious!

Chicken Tortilla Soup from Sasha Knight

This is the basic recipe, but I change it up all the time, add a little more of one thing, throw extra spices in, sometimes I add in zucchini or peppers. Just whatever Ia??m in the mood for. This is a good base though, and is good as is if you dona??t want to experiment.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 3-4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (I prefer thighs)

1 4 oz can of green chilis

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of pinto beans (I use jalapeno pinto beans), drained and rinsed

1 can of corn, do not drain (I use mexicorn)

1 can of tomato sauce

2 cans of chicken broth

1 pkg or taco seasoning or 1 pkg of dry fiesta ranch salad dressing (I prefer the fiesta ranch, but I was told that ita??s hard to find outside of California)

2 (or more) whole jalapenos, puncture to allow flavor into the soup

1 bunch of cilantro chopped (minus stems)

1/2-1 cup of salsa (any brand, I tend to use chunky)

Tortillas or tortilla chips (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Shredded cheddar and jack cheese (optional)

Avocado (optional)

How to prepare:

Put chicken in the bottom of the crockpot and pour remaining ingredients on top of it except for the salsa, tortillas, sour cream, and cheese. Stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours. The last 30 minutes, remove chicken and shred. Put the shredded chicken back into the soup and add the salsa. Mix well. Serve with tortilla chips or tortillas and garnish with sour cream, cheese and sliced avocado.

(AJ: I didn’t read the instructions totally right and added the salsa with all of the other ingredients at the beginning and this didn’t seem to hurt it. I served with grated cheese–mix it into your bowl and it gets a deliciously creamy taste. Top with tortilla chips and…yum! Also, I found Fiesta Ranch packets in the salad dressing aisle, but didn’t use that, because my husband doesn’t like ranch flavor.)