Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

There is nothing like chicken soup when you are catching a cold.... or the weather is turning cold..... and rather than a plain old chicken noodle soup, I love chicken soups with garlic and peppers in them. My niece, Emily had made this soup and shared the recipe on her blog. She got it from Rachel Ray's Magazine, thanks Em!! But you know me... I always have to take a good thing and tweak it a bit. I felt it needed more 'stuff' in it, so I added black beans and corn, and then I thought the chicken probably needed more flavor, so I added a couple of teaspoons of dry taco seasoning mix. YUM!! And of course no soup is good without a sprinkle of grated cheese.... I also diced by avocado so it was more bite size... you can't see it in the pic, I made the mistake of adding it first, then topping with crushed tortilla chips and cheese... but this was good!! Perfect for a cold Autumn evening......

Mexican Chicken Lime Soup
6 Servings
Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or 4 large boneless, skinless, chicken breasts), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
2 teaspoons taco seasoning mix (dry)
6 cups chicken broth
1 (14oz)can yellow corn, drained
1 (14oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper
1 hass avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise into 12 pieces (or diced)
Crushed tortilla chips
Grated cheese (any kind)

Directions:  In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, lower the heat to medium and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Increase the heat to high, push the vegetables to the side of the pan, add the chicken along with the taco seasoning and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 to 7  minutes or until chicken is mostly cooked through. Stir in the chipotles and adobo sauce, then stir in the chicken broth, corn and black beans. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.
To Serve: Divide the soup into 6 soup bowls and garnish with the avocado, tortilla chips and grated cheese if desired.