Chicken Tortilla Soup a/k/a Roasted Vulture Soup with Dried Bat Wings

I found this recipe in the Spectacular Spreads cookbook by Maegan Brown.

It was the perfect soup for Halloween night.  Of course, I changed the name to a more fitting one in the spirit of spookiness.

You can cook this one on the stove top or put everything in your slow cooker and let it simmer away while you're out with the kiddos trick or treating.

I added some chicken broth that I cooked my chicken breasts in because I wanted it a little more soupier.  You can certainly use shredded rotisserie chicken if you prefer and to save time. I also added some chicken taco seasoning because it did seem to be a little more mild than we prefer so I wanted to make it a little more flavorful.

I will share the instructions for a slow cooker (as I made it), but you can certainly use a Dutch oven or soup pot if you prefer.

1 T. olive oil

1 small white onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 t. ground cumin

2 t. dried oregano

1 t. kosher salt

3 (15 oz.) cans cannellini beans, undrained, divided

2 (10 oz.) cans Rotels, undrained

1 (15 oz.) can cream-style corn, undrained

1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

4 cups shredded cooked chicken

Juice of one lime

1 cup tortilla strips (for garnishing)

Garnishes: sour cream, guacamole, jalapenos, shredded cheese, salsa, etc.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions become translucent.  Stir in the cumin, oregano, and salt.

While the onions are cooking, empty two of the cans of the cannellini beans into the slow cooker.  Puree them with an immersion blender until smooth.

Add the remaining beans, Rotels, corn, and shredded chicken to the pureed bean mixture and stir to combine.

Add in the onions and garlic and about 2 cups of chicken broth.

Set heat to high for about an hour.  At that point  you can add any additional seasoning you'd like along with the lime juice.

It's ready to serve now or you can simply set the heat to low or warm until you're ready to dine.

Garnish with the tortilla strips and any other toppings you'd like.

Here are some of the toppings I had for our guests to enjoy.