Trisha Yearwood Chicken Tortilla Soup

With a second day off from work due to hurricane Sandy, Neal and I took full advantage of the time to get some more things done around the house and to prep for the work week ahead.

After a morning of meal planning and recipe hunting, Neal and I headed over to Cosi for lunch before running a few errands.

At Cosi I ordered the Fire-Roasted Sandwich on multi-grain bread for 9 Points Plus on Weight Watchers. A side of carrots and a Coke Zero rounded out my lunch.

After an afternoon of running errands, grocery shopping, cleaning, and e-mailing, Neal and I headed over to Golds Gym for a workout. My poison of choice was the cybex… I always get an awesome workout on this machine without fail!

I did 30 minutes on the Cybex, level 5, at high intensity. I was a sweating fool afterwards and earned 8 activities points on it.

I then moved over to the mats and busted out some crunches and plank holds. I did 3 rounds of plank, holding each for at least 1 minute.

I’m not sure there’s anything better than going to the gym with Neal. I’m really grateful we’re able to share the drive to workout together, even though some times we let sleep and laziness win.

For dinner I made Trisha Yearwood’s Chicken Tortilla Soup!

After seeing this on her show on Saturday, I knew it was a must try. Trisha’s recipe was a little fattening for me, so I changed a few things and brought the Points down to 6PP per serving.

Trisha Yearwood Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Smart Balance Spread
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Three 14-ounce cans chicken broth
4 cups fat free half-and-half
One 10.75-ounce can healthy request cream of chicken soup
1 cup prepared salsa, mild or spicy
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled, drained and shredded
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained
One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained
One 15-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup of pickled jalepenos (I added these because we like spice, omit if you want the soup to be mild)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
One 1.27-ounce packet McCormick’s Chicken Quesadilla seasoning

Directions

Melt Smart Balance in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, and poblano pepper and saute until softened. Add the flour to the onion mixture and stir well. Add the broth and the half-and-half to the pan and stir well.

Next stir in the cream of chicken soup, salsa, chicken, beans, corn, jalapenos, cumin and chicken quesadilla seasoning.

Continue to simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes and you’re ready to go!