Spicy Chicken Soup

A recipe from the days before I took photos of my finished meals. No pinning this recipe anytime soon! It's a tasty, hearty soup that makes a lot. Low-sodium products are recommended since there are a lot of canned/processed ingredients (salsa, canned tomatoes, etc). Note: this is a great recipe for a mountain cabin vacation. The few spices can easily be brought along and everything else is readily available even in smaller stores.

Spicy Chicken Soup

~adapted years ago from this top rated allrecipes recipe

• 2 quarts water**
• 8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves*
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. ground pepper
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 2 T. dried parsley
• 5 cubes chicken bouillon**
• 1 T. onion powder
• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (16-oz.) jar chunky, medium salsa
• 1 (14.5-oz.) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato soup**
• 2 c. frozen corn 
• 4 c. cooked beans: seasoned black beans, pinto beans, etc.**
• sour cream to top bowls

*use less if you have LARGE chicken breasts (which so many are these days!)

**one of the nice things about this soup is that you can mix and match your leftovers: leftover tomato soup, homemade chicken stock, leftover chili, ... just adjust liquid measurements accordingly (and remember that canned tomato soup is usually thinned on the stove--your homemade version might be much thinner already)

1. Combine water through onion powder in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked (up to an hour). Remove chicken and shred; reserve 5 cups broth. (This step can be done well in advance of the next one--just refrigerate until needed.)
2. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large pot. Add all the remaining ingredients (including chicken/broth and NOT including sour cream). Simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Top individual bowls with a spoonful of sour cream.

Serves 8