Linda's Southwest Chicken Soup Recipe

This soup recipe is for a simple but incredibly delicious and satisfying Southwest Chicken Soup. This can be made the old fashioned way by chopping all ingredients by hand before making, or, look in the frozen food section for equivalents.
See the 'tips' section at the bottom for how to make this chicken soup recipe into a Spicy Southwest Chicken Soup Recipe.

Things you'll need:
1/2 - 1 cup cubed chicken in 1 inch cubes.
1/2 cup chopped celery in 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped carrots in 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 - 1 cup chopped potatoes in 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium onions chopped into 1/4 inch cubes.
Large can chicken stock small can tomatoes with chillies (such as rotelle) small can corn/drained. salt/pepper/sugar/chili powder/sprinkle nutmeg.
Olive oil for sauteeing.

Tips
If you want to make spicy southwest chicken soup make two adjustments. Make a mixture of 1/2 paprika and 1/2 chilli powder. Do not drain the can of tomatoes with chilli' s and add with the rest of the ingredients.

1 Prepare the ingredients. Assemble all of the ingredients and start chopping the vegetables. Chop the chicken breasts when the vegetables are finished. Place each of the chopped ingredients into their own bowls. Clean all surfaces to make sure there is no contamination from the raw chicken.

2 Sauté in olive oil and paprika. Start two pans on the stove top and medium to high heat. In the larger one add the onion. Sprinkle the onion liberally with paprika, salt and pepper. Sauté until translucent stirring to coat all of the onion in the paprika. At the same time in the other pan, add the celery to the hot oil, sprinkle liberally with paprika and add salt and pepper. Stir so that the celery is coated in paprika. Remove the onion with a slotted spoon and add the chicken cubes. Again sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper. Sauté until done, stirring constantly. Remove the celery with a slotted spoon and add the carrots. Sprinkle with paprika/salt/pepper.
3 Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot. Put the large can of chicken stock into the large soup pot. Add all other ingredients except the can of Tomatoes with chilli's. Bring to a boil and drop to a simmer. Taste and adjust spices. Just before you are ready to serve drain the can of tomatoes and chillies and add. Taste and adjust spices for the last time.