GAP Style Cafe Rios Chicken Tortilla Soup

The "Soup" requires about 10 minutes of prep, and 2-3 hours to cook in your crock pot, so it requires a little planning.  Even though there are tons of ingredients and steps, it's worthwhile and actually very simple!  Make sure you have home made chicken stock and chicken meat from making your chicken stock before starting.  Otherwise this simple meal could easily become time consuming.

Soup
1 T. animal fat or butter
1 onion, diced (approximately 1 cup)
1/2 t. cumin
dash cayenne
1/2 t. chili powder
5 cups chicken stock
3 T. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
pepper, to taste

Saute onion in butter in a small skillet, until onions are translucent.  Stir in cumin, cayenne, chili powder, and saute an additional minute or two (I had to add a tablespoon of chicken stock to keep it from sticking).

Transfer seasoned onions to a small crock pot.  Add chicken stock, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and pepper to taste.  Simmer on high heat for 2-3 hours.

Salsa
6 Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T. jalapeno, minced
2-3 T. lime juice
1/2 t. salt

Mix all ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate while soup is cooking.

When close to serving your soup, make the "Rice" and "Chicken."

Cauliflower "Rice"
3 c. cauliflower pieces
3 T. butter
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c. water for saucepan cook method

Cook cauliflower (steam or stove top method), until cauliflower is VERY soft (14-20 min).  It should crumble easily.  Drain water or remove from steamer.  Add butter, salt, and pepper to taste.  Dice fine.  Set aside.

Chicken
3 c. COOKED chicken, diced or shredded
2 t. chili powder
1/4 t. cumin
2 t. onion powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1 T. paprika

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan just until warm (approximately 5-10 minutes). You may need to add a tablespoon of chicken stock or water to keep the chicken and spices from sticking to the pan.

Garnishments (optional)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 avocados, cubed
fresh cilantro, chopped
lime wedges

In individual bowls layer 1/2 c. cauliflower, 1/2 c. chicken, 1/3 c. salsa, 1/3 c. diced avocado (optional), 1/3 c. cheddar cheese (optional).  Ladle 1 cup of soup over layers.  Finish garnishing as desired.  ENJOY!