Chicken Taco Soup

As soon as there is a chill in the air, I alway crave a bowl of warm soup. This chicken taco soup is delicious and fun because you get to dress it up with toppings like sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla chips. What's not to love?

Whip up a batch of this soup, break out the chips and dig in!

Chicken Taco Soup

Serves 4 to 6

1 pound chicken breasts (or you can use ground beef or turkey. see note below)

1 large onion, diced
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. ranch dressing (dry mix)

1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans

1 can (15 ounces) black or kidney beans

1 can, sliced black olives

1 cup frozen corn (or one can, drained)
1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes (with jalapenos if you want it spicy)
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 1/2 chicken stock (or water)
Garnishes:
Sour Cream

Tortilla chips

Shredded Cheese

Diced Olives

Preparation:
In a pan over medium heat, saute chicken in olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper until done. Remove from pan, let cool slightly, shred with two forks and set aside. Add a splash of olive oil to a soup pot over medium heat. Add diced onions to the pot and cook until softened. Add in the shredded chicken, taco seasoning and ranch mix. Stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients (except for garnishes) and simmer for an hour. When ready, ladle into bowls and serve with sour cream, tortilla strips, cheese, diced olives, etc. 

* If you're using ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey, saute onion until soft and then add in ground meat. Cook until meat is done and then stir in seasonings. Add remaining ingredients and proceed with recipe.

** You can also add one can of beer for one cup of the stock.