Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is another of Pioneer Woman's recipes, and of course it was good! I did modify it in a few places, though. This recipe is a close cousin to Taco Soup...different, but I definitely wouldn't put them on the menu for the same week. I started this today during the kids nap. The long list of ingredients and instructions made me think this was going to be pretty labor-intensive (which I am not fond of), but (happily) it was quick and easy and most of the long list of ingredients were things I typically have in my pantry (spices, cornmeal, garlic...). Here's what you need for my shortcut version:

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, diced (about 1/2 an onion)
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (if you buy the jar of pre-minced garlic it is 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder (unless you like it really spicy, I would start with 1/2 teaspoon and and more as needed at the end)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (12 ounce) can chicken, drained
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
32 ounces low sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups hot water
2 cans black beans, drained
3 tablespoons cornmeal
crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

(1) Add olive oil to pot on stove. Add diced onion, peppers, and garlic. Turn on medium/high heat and let it cook 3-4 minutes until onion begin to become translucent.
(2) Add in cumin, chili powder, and garlic salt. Stir to combine.
(3)Add Rotel, chicken, chicken stock, tomato paste, 4 cups hot water, and black beans. Stir it all up.
(4) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let it simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes.
(5)Mix cornmeal with a couple tablespoons of water in a separate bowl to moisten. Add mixture to pot and stir it up. Let it simmer for another 30 minutes. (The longer it simmers the thicker it will get. I simmered mine about 45 minutes after adding the cornmeal.)
(6) Let it sit 15-20 minutes before serving...I don't know why...because the Pioneer Woman said so, that's why.
(7) Add some crushed tortilla chips and cheese and serve it up. I dumped my chips in the pit and let them get soft. So good.