Good to the Bones Enchilada Soup

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The weather is changing, and that means I want some nice warm, stick-to-my-bones food. I means let’s face it, you can’t eat banana pudding ice cream all the time, (or can you?). I used to hate soup. Like hate hate. I thought that all soup came from a can and it just didn’t feel like anything to get excited about. But then I discovered Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup, and with that first spoonful, I knew I had my first soup crush. From that point on, things escalated pretty quickly and now I’m a full on soup convert. With that in mind, I wanted to share the first soup recipe I ever created, my homeade-ish good to the bone enchilada soup.

Before I give you the recipe, I would like to say that this soup is HIGHLY customizable. This means that you can absolutely make substitutions and alterations according to your preference and dietary needs. I’ll point those opportunities out as I walk you through below. Alright, let’s get started!

First we’re going to cook our chicken

This is also where you can start to customize. First, you can leave the chicken out if you’d like a vegetarian dish; this soup is so hearty, I doubt you would miss it. or you can use the chicken of your choice. Or, if you don’t want to go through the trouble of cooking the chicken in a pan, you can also use a rotisserie chicken, or cook your chicken in the crockpot, or even boil it. After the chicken is cooked, we either shred or cube the chicken, depending on preference.

Next we’re going to cook our vegetables….enchilada soup style.

Your onion should be chopped, and I like to cut my peppers into long thin strips, but if you prefer chopped then do that! This is another place that you get to customize.

In a pan heat your olive oil, add your chopped vegetables, pepper and salt. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables become soft and translucent (this takes about 7 minutes). When that happens add your garlic and cook for another minute. Combine this with the chicken you’ve set aside.

Last, we’re going to make the ‘soup’ part of the enchilada soup.

Combine 2 cans of condensed tomato soup, the water, enchilada sauce and the taco seasoning. Taste the mixture and adapt to your preference. If you like a little more spice (I’m a wimp), add more enchilada sauce to taste. If you like a thinner soup, add a bit more water. That’s it. Play with it and taste as you go so that you can make the recipe your own.

Now grab a 2-quart casserole dish and it’s time to layer. First, the chicken and veg mix will go on bottom. We’re going to top that with the delicious soup mixture you’ve just made. Last, just top it all with shredded cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, top with chives and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.

That’s it! I love to serve this with a good sweet cornbread (of course I’m team sweet), and whatever vegetable you’d like.

Well that’s all for this time! I hope that you stay warm, eat stick-to-the-bone hearty foods and enjoy this wonderful fall season. Make life sweet and learn all you can!