Chicken Poblano Soup

From her blog "Cookie Madness", I know Anna is one smart cookie!  Everything I've tried from her blog is delicious.  From the title of her blog, you might imagine most of Anna's recipes are delicious, sweet treats and that IS the case.  I was surprised to find a terrific looking soup recipe on her blog when I was looking through older posts the other day.  Looks like this is a recipe Anna posted around Thanksgiving, as this soup would be a good use for leftover turkey.  I made this soup today and it is AMAZING.  Since I had no turkey on hand, I took one-pound of trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts and poached them for 20 minutes in beer (one 12-ounce can of Coors Light).   I made very few changes to the recipe when I made it at home... shocking... I know!!!  Below you will find Anna's recipe and I underlined the few slight changes I made.  In addition to the slight changes noted below, I used my immersion blender to puree the soup a bit before I added in the chicken.  Also, I omitted the vegetable oil.  I cooked the onions and the peppers in the butter before adding in the tortilla/flour mixture.

I highly encourage you to check out Anna's blog.  She is an very bright and creative... so bright and creative that she won the million dollar prize in the Pillsbury Bake-Off a few years ago....

Turkey Poblano Soup (from http://www.cookiemadness.net/)
1 poblano pepper (I used 3 small poblano peppers)
4 corn tortillas ( 5 or 6 inches across), chopped (I used five white corn tortillas)
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon salt**(I added nearly 2 teaspoons salt plus 1 teaspoon sugar)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I omitted this and cooked the veggies in the butter)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, finely minced (I used 2 large cloves of garlic)
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken broth, you can use low sodium or regular and adjust salt (I used 4 cups)
1/2 cup half-and-half or 1/4 each milk and cream (I used 1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half)
1-2 cups chopped cooked turkey (as noted above, I poached 1 lb. chicken breasts in beer)
Shredded Monterrey jack or shredded Mexican style cheese (I used Pepper Jack cheese)

Directions:
Wash the poblano and remove stems and seeds. Broil about 5 inches from heat or until blistered and soft. Quickly put in a zipper bag then seal and let cool. Remove from bag, peel of the skin and chop to make ½ cup.

Combine chopped tortillas, flour, chili powder, cumin, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pepper in bowl of a food processor and process until mixture is the consistency of very coarse cornmeal. Set aside.

Saute onion and the 1/2 cup poblano in a large pot until onions are tender. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Add butter and let it melt. Add tortilla-flour mixture to the pot and mix to form a roux. Slowly add the broth (about 1 cup at a time), stirring to make a thick soup. Cook 4-5 minutes stirring constantly. At this point, taste and adjust salt if necessary. Add half and half (or milk & cream) and bring to a slow simmer. Cook over low heat until soup is hot. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and add the turkey. Spoon into bowls and top each serving with cheese.