A true Fall staple in my house… This can take 20 minutes to prep or it can take 2 hours. It’s really up to you. If you need it in a pinch, go with a rotisserie chicken, and buy your veggies pre-chopped. If you’re a psycho like me and want to cut every vegetable, go for it.

GROCERY LIST:

• Combine the following seasonings in a small bowl
  • Chili Powder
  • Chipotle Powder
  • Cumin
  • Oregano
  • Coriander
  • Salt (go easy to start – chicken stock is salty)
  • Pepper
• 1 white onion (diced)
• 2 bell peppers (diced)
• 1 jalapeno (diced)
• Handful of garlic (minced)
• Ancho/Guajillo Peppers (de-seeded)
  • This is optional
• Couple tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 cartons of a good chicken stock
• 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 small can of hatch green chiles (spicy or mild depending on your tolerance)
• 1 can of yellow corn (rinsed)
• 1 can of black beans (rinsed)
• 3 large chicken breasts, or 6 chicken thighs, or a rotisserie chicken (see what I’m saying about this being really easy or really hard?)
• For garnish:
  • Sour cream
  • An easy guac (avocado, red onion, salt, pepper, lime)
  • Lime
  • Cilantro
  • Monterrey Jack Cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Heat some avocado oil in a large heavy-bottom pot, and add your bell peppers, jalapenos and onions.
• Once those turn soft, add your garlic, and cook until fragrant.
• Toss in the seasonings, stir until everything is coated, then add in your tomato paste.
• Incorporate the tomato paste, then let that cook off for a few minutes.
• Deglaze with a dash of chicken stock, then add in your tomatoes and green chiles
• Cook those off for another 5-7 minutes, adding a little more chicken stock if it dries out.
• Add the rest of the first chicken stock carton, stir, and let simmer for a little bit.
• If you want to add the dried chiles, toast them with a little avocado oil, dunk them in boiling water for about 2 minutes, then add them to a blender with a few ladels of your stock and veggies, blend on high, and add right back in.
  • This is completely optional – I just think it adds a little depth to the flavor.
• This would be the time to add your chicken.
  • If I have time, I season chicken breasts with all of the seasonings above, take them to the smoker until they reach about 155, then shred it and add it.
  • If you don’t have time, bake them in the oven, or just shred a rotisserie.
• Add in your corn and beans, stir, and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Crack a Pacifico, go outside, and enjoy.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Keep that second carton of chicken stock handy, and add as you need to achieve your desired consistency of the soup. I like mine chunky, so I don’t add the entire second carton.
• I cut some corn tortillas into strips and fried them, but you can use tortilla chips.
• Top with whatever you’d like. I personally love a handful of cheese, and a scoop of guac.