I have always liked Chili's [restaurant] Southwestern Chicken Soup... It is yummy, (fairly) healthy, and seemed like it would be easy to make, so I went looking for a copycat recipe. I found this one, but only on Pinterest, and it seemed both a little vague and hokey ("Put on some mood lighting and jazz music..." *eye roll*). So, I've posted the Pinterest version below, but I am also going to give you my version of the recipe, so (if you so choose) you can make it too!
This recipe came from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/56295064075665441/
2.7 pounds of roasted chicken, shredded
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 white onions, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 stalks celery, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2/3 cup Better Than Bouillon chicken base
10 cups water
2 tsp chipotle chili powder
24 oz can of Mexican hominy
4 oz can of mild diced green chiles
15 oz can of diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 tsp lime juice
handful of cilantro leaves
1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until onions turn translucent. Add diced celery and cook for two more minutes.
2. Add tomato paste and mix until combined.
3. Add chicken base, water, chipotle powder, hominy, green chiles, diced tomatoes, and shredded chicken to the pot. Bring to a boil.
4. Add lime juice and cilantro, and stir. Serve immediately. Garnish as desired.
General Thoughts: My friend, Lisa, helped with prepping this one and handled all the chopping (thank you, Lisa!), but the prep wasn't too onerous, overall. I used pre-roasted, shredded chicken available at my local Safeway (Albertsons), which saved a lot of work. And, once the prep was finished, the actual cooking was a snap!
The texture of the soup was a great surprise and very interesting... There was some mild crunch provided by the celery, some firmness from the onions and chiles, some sponginess from the hominy, and considerable heartiness provided by the chicken. And, the broth... oh, the broth! You know I like a good brothy soup, and the broth in this one was heavenly!! The soup was perfectly spiced and terrifically flavorful... The only bummer was that the soup was SO chock full of yummy ingredients that the broth felt like it couldn't be the proper star it wanted to be. LOL A good problem to have, I suppose...
But, did this soup deliver on its promise of being a copy of the Chili's restaurant version? Nope... In my opinion, this soup hardly resembled the Chili's version in anything but name. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing, as my version was very tasty in its own right. If you are looking for the Chili's restaurant version, go to Chili's... But, if you are looking for an easy, delicious, filling southwestern chicken soup to make at home, this recipe is for you!
Potential Improvements? I would cut the celery by about 1/3 and the fire roasted tomatoes by about 1/2 (to cater a bit more to my family's tastes). And, I would cut back to about 1.5 pounds of roasted chicken. That's it!
Polling the Fam: I loved this one and will definitely make it again, particularly with the improvements above. Becky said it was solid, but thought it had too many celery and tomatoes, and she suggested puréeing the veggies. Hunter said he thoroughly enjoyed it but doesn't care for celery. Jayson really liked it, thought it was great, and loved the broth. Lisa also thought it was great, with the perfect heat and flavor.
Verdict: Loved it! (5 stars)
