Super Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup with Creamed Corn Cornbread and Cinnamon Honey Butter

May 3, 2013. A day that will live in infamy here in Minneapolis because IT IS SNOWING. In May. Again. For the third time this week. While we should be outside cleaning the grill in preparation for delicious light summer fare, we are, instead, huddled around the space heater craving hearty warm meals. In May. Again. For the third time this week.

Anyway, here is a super easy 'comfort food' type soup. Coupled with incredibly moist and delicious cornbread (and I don't even like cornbread), it's a winner for those cold winter (or summer) nights Mother Nature chooses to inflict on us here in the upper Midwest.

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Super Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup:

1 quart chicken broth

2 cans (8.5 oz) chili beans in sauce

1 jar (16 oz) prepared salsa

1/3 cup uncooked white rice (can use brown, but adjust cooking time accordingly)

Meat from one store-bought medium rotisserie chicken (or use whatever type of chicken meat you prefer to get about 1 ½ to 2 cups chicken chunks)

½ cup frozen corn kernels

Crushed corn chips, sour cream and shredded Jack cheese for garnish

Add all ingredients, except corn, to large stockpot. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until rice is soft.  Add frozen corn and simmer until corn is heated through—about 5 to 10 more minutes.  Garnish with crushed corn chips and optional sour cream and shredded Jack cheese. Serve with cornbread (recipe below).

Alton Brown’s Creamed Corn Cornbread (modified)

This is an adaptation of Alton Brown’s recipe (found here). 

Ingredients
1 cup coarse cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1-2 tablespoons maple syrup (depending on preference—substitution for sugar in Alton’s recipe)

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1 cup creamed corn—scant

1 tablespoon oil (Alton’s called for 2 Tbsp, but that was a LOT of oil for a 10-inch pan and even too much for the 15 inch that I used)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet into the oven.

3. In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together to combine well.

4. In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, maple syrup and creamed corn, whisking together to combine thoroughly.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine. If the batter will not pour, add more buttermilk to the batter.

6. Swirl the canola oil in the hot cast iron skillet. Pour the batter into the skillet.

7. Bake until the cornbread is golden brown and springs back upon the touch, about 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

1 stick butter at room temp
2-4 tablespoons honey (to taste, I prefer less honey)
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ vanilla

Blend all