Vegetable Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite foods of all time is an awesome bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup. I love the aroma of the spices, the gooey cheese, the crunch of the tortilla chips. I love being decadent and adding chopped avocado and a dollop of sour cream. Makes my mouth water any day of the week. This, is not that. But it is a close healthy version of my favorite soup. It's one of my versions of Vegetable Tortilla Soup. I don't make my version vegetarian, since I use chicken broth, but if you were to substitute vegetable broth, it would be a great vegetarian dish. Another great thing about this dish is that it is a chop & drop. Get the soup pot going and add to it as you chop your ingredients.

Vegetable Tortilla Soup

1 large onion
3-4 garlic cloves
1 zucchini
1 carrot
1 bell pepper
1 cup of frozen corn
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 can of black beans
3 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of oregano
1 (or half) of a chipotle in adobe
4 cups of chicken broth
salt

Toppings:
Baked Tortilla Chips
Reduced Fat Mexican Cheese
Fat Free Sour Cream

Start with a good size soup pot. Put on medium/high heat and spray with cooking spray. Dice onion and garlic. Dump in pot. Chop your zucchini, carrot and bell pepper. Add each ingredient to pot as you finish chopping it, stirring the pot frequently to prevent vegetables from burning. Add in the tomato paste and stir to incorporate. Add corn. Sprinkle in the cumin, oregano and salt to taste. Open the tomatoes and beans and add them to the soup.

Next, from a can of Chipotle in Adobe sauce, pull out one or 1/2 of one chipotle pepper. Mince and add to the pot. These peppers are very spicy, so start out small and add more heat as you like. I place the unused portion of peppers and sauce in a ziplock bag and freeze. When I need to use it later, it is easy to break off however much you need.

Last, add the chicken broth and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Serve with toppings. Makes about 6 bowls of soup.

Weight Watchers:
1.5 cups of soup 2 pts
Baked tortilla chips 2 pts
cheese 2pts