Mexican inspired soup

The other day I made this AMAZING soup. I know its summer here in Florida but I LOVE soup! And I have been on quite the kick latley... Plus leftovers make great lunches.

Tim was out, I had a nail appointment so Tuesday night I decided to just stop and get a quick rotisserie chicken for dinner. Something fast and easy, although I typically make homemade. The next night, we had BBQ chicken and corn on the cob cooked on the grill. I decided to use the leftovers of both of these meals to make soup and I am so glad I did.

Now I am relatively new to the whole make your own stock thing but I really like the idea of knowing exactly what is in the stock and that it is not overloaded with sodium.

So here is what I did. I took the chicken carcass with a good amount of meat still on it and put it in a large pot. I then added two empty corn ears from that night’s dinner, along with a whole onion, a whole carrot and some whole stalks of celery. I also added a bit of thyme and pepper for flavor. I filled the pot almost to the top with water and let it cook for an hour and a half. I then drained the broth from the goodies, saving only any remaining chicken and discarding the rest.

I let it sit in the fridge overnight and then skimmed any fat off the next day.  When I got home from work that night, I decided I wanted something with Mexican flavors. I used all of the broth and chicken and then added the following:

1 Can of corn, drained and rinsed
1 can of Black Beans drained and rinsed

1 can of Rotel with green chilies

1 onion, diced

1 TBSP dry ranch dressing mix

1 tbsp. Chili Powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

Sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes

¼ tsp. oregano

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. black pepper

Everything is already cooked, so you are really just boiling it to heat it and blend the flavors. I let mine simmer for 20 minutes. It made about 6 servings.

I recommend serving with a bit of shredded pepper jack cheese. YUM!