Chicken Taco Soup

One day, my mom convinced me to enter in a cream cheese cooking contest. At first, I was like nahh because I rarely ever cook with cream cheese. But as the day went on I thought about my favorite recipes and how cream cheese could be incorporated…. So I gave in and entered the cooking competition. The winner wins $25,000, so there are bajillion competitors. I know my chances of winning are super low but the, “You can’t win anything unless you try” quote from my mama made sense. So what the heck. I am trying. This recipe is for my main entrée submission. This is mighty delicious, and I encourage you all to try this.

Mexican Chicken Taco Soup

-1 onion (chopped)
-1 bell pepper (chopped)
-4 tomatillos (chopped)
-2 cloves garlic (minced)
-1 packet taco seasoning mix
-1 cup salsa
-1 can pinto beans
-1 can hominy
-16 oz frozen corn
-3 cans chicken broth
-4 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (chopped)
-1 6 oz can tomato paste
-Rotisserie chicken (shredded)
-4 oz cream cheese (can be low fat if you want to!)
-cilantro
-shredded Mexican style cheese

Sautee the onion, bell pepper, and tomatillos in a large pan for about 5 minutes until softened over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute. Add the taco seasoning mix, salsa, beans, hominy, corn, chicken broth, chipotle chilies, and tomato paste into the pot. Cook until everything is heated up (about 10 minutes). Add the shredded chicken. Add the 4 oz of cream cheese. Top the soup with cilantro and shredded cheese.

I had a cream cheese dinner party last week so I could test out my cream cheese skills and I made an entrée, side dish, and dessert all using cream cheese. My test testers approved this recipe so I’m sharing it with you guys. This can be served with margaritas and corn bread and this is so easy and my friends still remember this dinner to this day and ask when I will make this for them again. Remember, Cinco de Mayo is coming up!