Skinny Chicken Tortilla Soup

Skinny, meaning low fat, loaded with nutrients, and packed with flavor, without tons of fat grams and calories. It's about time I post a recipe without butter. I got this recipe from one of my lovely daughters, Rosebud. It's my adapted version of Weight Watchers Chicken Tortilla Soup, keeping it low fat, and keeping it real. I could not wait for it to finish and I'm not ashamed to admit I ate three bowls in one sitting! The flavors of cumin, cilantro, lemon, and lime brought this to a level of...WOW! Speaking of cilantro, I'm sort of funny about cilantro. I love it's pungent, earthy flavor, but I think too much cilantro can completely overpower a dish. In this recipe, it really was the high point of flavors that made this soup irresistible. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but I swear the recipe is super easy, and fast, to make. Thank you Babygirl for this little gem!

Ingredients: (yields approx. 12 cups)

1 T. olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 T. ground cumin
3 bay leaves
fresh ground pepper- to taste
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts-trimmed of fat and stuff
8 c. low sodium chicken broth
1 can corn drained (I used shoepeg)
1-15oz. can black beans drained and rinsed
1-15.5oz can cannelini beans drained and rinsed (original recipe calls for a can of white hominy)
1- 4oz. can chopped green chili's
1/2 t. chili powder
3 T. lemon juice
2 T. lime juice
1 T. Franks Red hot sauce
2 tomatoes chopped
1/4 red onion chopped
1/4 c. FRESH chopped cilantro
In a large pot or dutch oven, add oil to pan and heat. Add green peppers and onion and saute 5 minutes, until soft. Add garlic, cumin, and bay leaves and saute 1 minute. Add chicken breasts to pot, and then pour in chicken broth and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat uncovered. Once at a boil, reduce heat to low and cover with lid to cook/poach chicken, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken to cutting board, allowing to cool, then shred chicken and return to soup pot. Add and stir in the rest of the ingredients, 10-19 into the pot. Bring back up to a boil on high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Enjoy.
Garnish suggestions: Baked Tortilla strips, fat free sour cream, chopped avocado, reduced fat shredded cheddar.