tortilla soup

Last night I decided I should embrace my Mexican side a little more often and made a dish I am obsessed with but have never made. 

 Any soup that has tortillas, cheese, avocado, CILANTRO just sounds absolutely delicious to me. 

It is incredibly easy as well.

You will need:

• 6 (6 inch) corn tortillas (preferably a few days old).. make sure they are corn.. flour just does not taste the same. 
• 1/4 cup of oil 
• 1/2 cup of chopped onion 
• 2 cloves of garlic ( I always double this since I'm a huge fan of garlic) 
• 1 medium chile chopped ( I got a can of chiles and put about 2 tablespoons.. my boyfriend wouldn't let me make it too spicy)
• 4 cups of chicken broth 
• 1 can of diced tomatoes 
• 1/2 tsp of salt 
• some ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cooked chicken ( I made chicken in my crockpot the night before and it was seasoned well) 
• 1 ripe avocado
• shredded Monterrey Jack cheese or any cheddar preferably a sharp one
• chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime cut into wedges ( I didn't use these since I didn't have any at home but it would be a good addition to the soup but not necessary)   

If your tortillas are fresh you are going to need to put them in the oven for about 10 minutes to crisp them up a bit, set your oven to 200 F. Then cut your tortillas into strips as seen above. 

In a large pot under medium heat put the oil in and crisp up the tortilla chips until golden brown. Remove and put aside on a paper towel covered plate to allow excess oil to soak

Do not drain the oil leftover from frying the tortillas. Fry up the onions and chiles until soft. Add garlic for about 1 minute.

 Add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high and allow to boil. Once it is boiling decrease the heat and cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add your shredded chicken and stir until heated through. 

Serve bowls with tortilla chips, chopped fresh cilantro, cheese and avocado slices. 

ENJOY YOUR FIESTA!