Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have been looking for an easy tortilla soup recipe for a long time.  THIS is the one, FINALLY!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
½ cup chicken or beef broth
2 cups milk
1 medium can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large can diced Tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
½ cup onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 bell pepper, diced small
1 can Enchilada sauce or Homemade Enchilada Sauce (see below)
2 whole chicken breasts
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack (or cheddar) cheese

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Stir in flour and keep stirring until smooth and bubbly. Watch this closely as it can scorch or clump easily.
3. Remove mixture from heat and add the chicken broth and ½ cup of the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously to keep smooth.
4. Return to heat and bring sauce to an easy boil while stirring constantly, until it thickens and remove from heat.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the enchilada sauce and chicken/beef broth mixture . Gradually whisk in remaining milk until smooth and then set aside.
6. In a large stew pot, combine beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, salt, and bell pepper.
7. Chop chicken breasts into cubes and sauté.  Add to the pot mixture and add sauce.
8. Cover and then cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
9. Top with cheese, sour cream, avocado, and/or tortilla chips (strips) and serve.
   ** to make this spicy add your own hot sauce or chili peppers** 
   Serve with cornbread (because everything is good with cornbread).  SO YUMMY!
   Thank you to The Idea Room for a version of this recipe! So many amazing cooking ideas on this site, please check it out!!