Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a recipe I clipped from my newspaper, and it was awesome. It tasted like something you might get at a restaurant. Not only was it rich and full of flavor, but it was very aesthetically pleasing too. The soup is a reddish color with lots of flecks of color. Topped with baked tortilla strips, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and fresh cilantro, it made an appealing meal.

The night I made this soup, we ate outside on our porch and I set it all up for a picture--the soup was in the foreground with our glasses of water and tea-lights in the background. Just as I was about to snap a picture for you, my camera battery died, and I wasn't able to get a picture. Trust me though, this is very good!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

6 corn tortillas cut into 1/2 in strips
non-stick cooking spray
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion diced
1 T chili powder
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 T ground cumin
1 T dried oregano
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken broth
1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes--do not drain
8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado diced
1T lemon juice
1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray tortilla stips with cooking spray and spread them on a baking sheet. Bake until the are crisp and golden, about 8-10 minutes

In large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat, add the onion and cook unil lightly browned. Stir in chil powder, crushed garlic, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves and cook until fragrant (about 3 minutes).

Add the broth to the stockpot and stir well. Place 2 cups of the broth in a blender along with 1/2 cup of the toasted tortilla strips (reserve the remaining strips for garnishing the soup) and puree until smooth. Return the pruee to the pot.

Add the diced chicken, tomatoes and juice. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves and season with salt and papper.
Dice avocado and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Serve in soup bowls topped with avocado, cheese, tortilla strips, and cilantro

Serves 4-5

Personal notes:
I added more then 1/2 cup of the tortilla stips, and some of the tomatoes and chicken to the broth that I pureed for a thicker broth. I also added some of the cilantro into the soup, and garnished with sour cream. Next time around I would use a little less chili powder, because it was a little spicy in my opinion, and I would make more of the tortilla strips for garnish because there can never be too many of them...they were yummy!

Jessica