On The Menu: Copycat Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

I could also title this post "...Or, why I need an immersion blender in my life." But we'll get to that later.

Soup. I could eat soup for every meal, every day. So many varieties! It's the first thing I look for on the menu, and Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup is fast becoming one of my favorite go-tos when ordering out. I also enjoy On the Border's Chicken Tortilla Soup. I've been looking for copycat recipes for both of these, but this one for Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup actually tastes pretty damn close to what I pay for at the restaurant, and was pretty easy to make (minus an unfortunate blending mishap). This recipe is slightly adapted in size an ingredients from Lindsey's Lucious. My husband actually said he preferred this soup over my Chicken Tortilla Soup, because he's not the biggest black bean fan and "didn't feel like he needed to navigate the soup for fear of hitting a bean minefield."

INGREDIENTS:
(Makes about 6 large portions)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Medium onion - diced
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 10oz can Old El Paso red enchilada sauce - mild
• 10 oz. Velveeta Cheese, cubed
• 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 Tsp cumin
• 1 Tsp chili powder
• 1 - 2 Tsp Chicken Soup Base (I used the powdered bullion)
• 1/2 Tsp cayenne / cajun spice
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1/2 Cup canned tomato sauce
• Two large chicken breasts - diced and cooked
• Three 6" corn tortillas, diced.
• Optional: 1/2 - 1 Can Golden Corn, Drained
• Garnishes: Sour Cream, Pico de Gallo, Crushed Tortilla Chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook your diced chicken in a skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper until completely cooked through. Set aside. Make sure your pieces of chicken are small enough to scoop up in a spoon for soup - you don't want a giant piece of chicken on your spoon. Kind of ruins the whole "soup" thing.

2. Heat your olive oil in a deep soup pot over medium. Add your onion and saute for a few minutes until soft. Add your garlic and saute for 30 seconds - 1 minute.

3. Add in the rest of the ingredients except for the chicken and the optional corn.

4. If you have an immersion blender. blend the soup at this point until you have a smooth consistency. If not, you will just have to continually whisk until the chopped corn tortillas dissolve. This is where things got a bit tricky for me. You see... I don't have an immersion blender...

*If you don't have an immersion blender, please don't be dumb like me and try to blend it in a normal blender. Just trust me on this one. In other news, the dogs enjoyed my mistake. Luckily I only lost a little of the actual soup.

5. Ok, now add in your chicken and corn and heat through.

6. Serve with sour cream, pico, and crushed tortilla chips. Yum!