Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup – Kristina Knight

The smell of food cooking all afternoon is soothing. Call me crazy, but it does! This recipe has the benefit of not only smelling great all afternoon, it's also something the whole family will enjoy – in one simple dish!

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Ingredients:

½ cup butter or margarine
2 cups milk
Family sized can of chicken broth
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped up (I usually make this dish after baking chicken for another night, cuts the prep time. If you're cooking from scratch, bake the chicken for 30 minutes until done and then chop)
1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes (Mild, Medium, HOT, your choice), drained
8 oz Velveeta cheese cubed or shredded
4-5 oz Mexican blend or Colby-Jack cheese, shredded
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder (3-4 tsp if you like really spicy)
Salt/Pepper – to taste
5-6 tortillas, cut into 2" strips

Preparation:

Spray the crockpot sides with cooking spray and turn it on low if you have all day, if you only have a couple of hours, medium or high). Toss all the ingredients except the Colby-Jack cheese and tortilla strips in and close the lid. Stir every half hour. About 15 minutes before dinner time, deep-fry the tortilla strips until they are a golden brown; each batch of the strips should take only 15 seconds or so, but they burn easily so small batches are better than tossing them all into the deep-fryer. If you don't have a deep fryer, use a large frying pan. Cover the bottom of the pan in canola oil, heat and fry. Again, only about 15 seconds. Drain the strips so they aren't greasy.

Serve:

Spoon a ladle of soup into a bowl, add a handful of the shredded cheese and then another ladle of soup. Place several tortilla strips on top (this is to your taste, add a lot or a little, your choice). Serve.

**Note: I like my tortilla strips to get a little soggy, so I put the tortilla strips in the middle with the shredded cheese. My husband likes his strips crisp so he leaves them on top. Your choice.

Esmerelda Quinn has been looking for a place to belong since her parents were killed in a car crash when she was young. The closest thing to home has always been Aunt Constance's villa in Puerto Vallarta, so after a string of dead-end hotellier jobs, she's coming home to run the villa.

Santiago Cruz has called the villa home for as long as he can remember. In between surfing events, Constance has always had a room for him. Color him surprised when Constance decides to retire - and leaves a joint interest in the villa to both Santiago and Esme.

Esme isn't thrilled to share ownership of the villa with the the youngest Cruz brother - especially when she learns Santiago's brother has been after the villa for years. But Santiago has grown up while she's been away at school and soon she finds herself falling for the rich boy down the hall.

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Website: http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com