Chicken Tortilla Soup-Work in Progress

I have gone back and forth about whether to post this meal...  And finally I landed on, yes, but as a work in progress.  I made this soup yesterday and wasn't happy with the way it turned out from the recipe I used as my kick-off.  So I set to work fixing it, and after having it tonight for dinner, I feel like it's decent, but still not amazing.  I'm calling for help or suggestions.  

Here is what I started with:

I actually cooked the chicken according to a recipe for chicken and spinach flautas that I will make later this week.  I even cooked enough of it for that recipe to save some time.  Go me, planning ahead!  

So I took almost 2 lbs of chicken (1 lb for this recipe and the rest reserved for the flautas) and poached them for 10 minutes in a bottle of beer (I used Pale Ale) and 2 cups of water.  I then reserved 1/4 cup of the liquid for the Flautas, poured off most of it and kept maybe a half a cup for the stock.  Take the chicken and shred it.  Now pay attention because this is an awesome trick.  

Remove the chicken breasts, put them in your stand mixer, and mix for 45 seconds on medium speed with your paddle attachment.  Instant shredded chicken!  I felt like I should add this recipe mostly to pass along this trick.  I love it!
 
 




What I did then was pour 2 containers of chicken stock into the large pot I was poaching in, and then add the chicken back in.  What I would do next time is season the chicken before adding it back in.  I eventually added salt, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes.  Just a quarter sized amount on your palm of each of the spices, and s and p to taste.  

Then chop your veggies.  I used 3 Roma tomatoes, half a red onion diced (it was pretty big), 3 hot peppers from my garden with ribs and seeds, a cup of frozen corn, and 3 ribs of celery.  I think it could have used some bell pepper, too, but didn't add that.  Throw your veggies in the pot, too.

 At this point, add a can of black beans, stir it all together, and vala!  Only, I still don't feel like it's quite right...  I heated some up today, added a touch of cream, garnished with avocado, cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro, and some crumbled corn chips.  It was good, but not exactly what I expected.  I don't have a final product picture because I didn't think I was going to add this one, but if I have it again this week, I'll snap a picture and add it.  

So, I need your help!  What would you add or change to make this better?