Tex-Mex Chicken Soup

Don't let the seemingly long ingredient list intimidate you, it's a lot of spices. :)

Tex-Mex Chicken Soup

2 t. American chili powder

1/2 t. ground coriander

18 t. salt

1/8 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. ground red pepper (I use Indian chili powder)

1/8 t. black pepper

1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast

1 t. vegetable oil

1 1/2 c. vertically sliced onion

2/3 c. thinly sliced yellow bell pepper

2/3 c. thinly sliced red bell pepper

2/3 c. thinly sliced green bell pepper

2 c. chicken broth

2 c. water

1/2 c. green split peas

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. bottled salsa

1. T. fresh lime/lemon juice

3 10-inch tortillas, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips

3/4 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish. Cut chicken into small bite size pieces. Combine spice mixture and chicken in a plastic bag, shaking to coat chicken pieces. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, cook until done.

Add onion and bell peppers to skillet and saute 3 minutes. Add chicken, broth, water, split peas, and 1/4 t. salt; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until peas are tender. Add salsa and lime juice, and simmer 10 minutes.

Preheat broiler/oven. Spread tortilla strips in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; lightly coat tortilla strips with cooking spray. * Broil tortilla strips 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once.

Serve soup topped with tortilla strips and cheese. Serves 4-6.

Notes: You don't have to use all three colors of bell peppers. If you can only get green, that's just fine! You can also substitute homemade salsa for the bottled, though I think bottled salsa is pretty easy to find in most places.