Tortilla Cheese Soup (on steroids)

It must be winter, I seem to be making a lot of soup!! But, oh well, I love soup. I could eat soup every day for the rest of my life and maybe have the same soup twice a year. Back in my working days I used to frequent a chain restaurant just for their tortilla cheese soup which just had cheese soup and chicken in it. Really! That's it! So I had to soup it up (pun definitely intended) This is SOOOO much better! This soup-of-the-week is so ridiculously easy, you'll make it tonight! (and no actual 'roids were administered in the making of this soup)

First, gather up your ingredients:

-leftover cooked chicken, cubed or shredded (or a chicken breast you quickly cooked up), about 2 cups
-2 cups of corn, frozen will be fine
-salsa, at least a cup but more if you want
-2 cans cheddar cheese soup
-1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
-milk
-green pepper and onion, chopped


Drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of your pan and get the peppers, onions and chicken going on a medium heat. Don't scorch them, but let them know you mean business!


When the pepper and onions have softened a bit and the chicken has just a little sear on it, add your corn, beans and both cans of soup.


Add enough milk to cover everything. It will look disgusting, but keep stirring and it will get better...I promise. Keep your heat on medium, you don't want to scorch the milk and cheese soup. I've done it and it was gross.


When everything has heated through, and there are little bubbles bubbling up on your soup, pour in your salsa, use as much as you like. Remember, if a little is good, more is better! (And that you can't take it out once you put it in.) Well, somewhere in the middle is where you want it, I guess.


Give it a good stir to incorporate the salsa and this is what you've got! Chunky deliciousness!


Usually, I serve this with some tortilla chips on top with the shredded cheddar cheese, but we're fresh out of chips. Here was lunch on a cold wintery day: tortilla cheese soup, honey whole wheat bread and apples. (I seem to be eating a lot of apples as well as soup this winter....hmmm.)


Ahhhh, the money shot! Now that is some soup! And there were no leftovers in the house that day...