Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is a simple and delicious meal in a bowl. To keep the chicken super moist and flavorful, I roast the chicken separately in the oven and then chop the meat and add it to the soup at the end. Roasting the chicken is very easy and it keeps all the flavor in the chicken. It is also a healthy alternative to chili but just as satisfying. I was too busy woofing it down at home to take proper pictures, so the ones that I took of the final product were taken in the cafeteria of my office. Not great, but you get the idea. We ate this soup while watching the Eagles totally blow it last weekend and this meal was our only consolation of the evening. Well, that and my visit from my favorite ad woman in New York City.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
4 split chicken breast
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 can black beans
1 can corn kernels
1 green pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 beer (I used Dos Equis)
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
salt and pepper
corn tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado, cilantro (to garnish)

1. Place the chicken breasts on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Bake the chicken in a hot 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to cool enough for you to handle it. Remove the skin and separate the chicken meat from the bones and cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
3. Dice the onion, pepper, and garlic. Heat 1 Tbs. vegetable oil in a large pot or dutch oven and add the diced vegetables. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and saute for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the drained and rinsed cans of beans and corn. Also sprinkle in the cumin and cayenne. Cook them together for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Add beer and vegetable stock and allow to simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes so that the flavors meld together.
6. Add the chicken pieces and continue to cook for another 20 minutes.
7. Serve up in bowls with crushed chips, cubed avocado, sour cream, and cilantro.