• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (4 ounces) diced green chilies
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, drained & rinsed (my addition)
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Dash of hot sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• Grated cheddar cheese
• Tortilla strips, crunchy

1. Cook chicken until cooked through and lightly browned.
5. Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion and garlic. Saute until tender. Add chilies, beans, chicken broth, lemon pepper, cumin, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Simmer 20 minutes.
9. Whisk water and flour together. Add to soup. Stir to thicken. Stir in chicken. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream.
13. For “crunchies” on top, cut corn tortillas into strips. Spray with oil. Bake in oven until crisp.
17. Sprinkle cheese in bowls. Ladle soup over cheese and top with crispy tortilla strips.

Kellie found this recipe in her local newspaper! Max & Erma's is a restaurant in the Ohio area and may be in other area's as well and this recipes is a clone of their spicy chicken tortilla soup! I found that it didn't pack as much heat as Max & Erma's but it was delicious! I think just adding some small diced jalapeno's would do the trick for more heat! I added a few more dashes of hot sauce and it helped spice it up! I also added some black beans that I wanted to use up! For the tortilla strips I bought some Tostitos Dipping Strips and they were perfect! Don't leave them out of the recipe because they take this soup to perfection! The more the merrier! After I took the picture, I loaded my bowl up with them! I also topped it with a dollop of sour cream and a little cheese for the picture! The cheese in the bottom of the bowl is wonderful!