Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup 

Phew! It is winter, all right. Runny noses, bigger and badder coats and boots, and more time inside. You would think that meant more cooking for me, but in fact, it has really slowed me down. I have been enjoying the luxuries of quick and easy meals, and going out to eat for far too long, and I really need to hop back on the cooking wagon. I think, or I guess I hope, that that is normal for anyone who likes to cook to go through lulls, but my spark has been lit recently once again- thank god. December was cold and lazy!! HELLO 2013!! So here it goes.

Bear with me, but I've been making a lot of soup recently. One of the first meals I made when I started cooking five years ago was Chicken Tortilla Soup. It is one of the first foods I made that I felt like I truly had mastered it. Now, I don't even have to glance at the recipe, which is one of the greatest feelings ever. Getting to the level of knowing a meal well, and being able to freestyle it, is a status that ever beginner chef wants to reach. I'd say now I am somewhat in the intermediate stages of cooking, but this meal is so easy to make, any beginner or person starting out in the kitchen can master it soon enough.

I have made this soup probably 15 times, and each time it's a bit different, but delicious nonetheless. I have made it for my family, my friends, and just myself. My friend/old coworker Jessica was coming over for dinner, and she is one of the healthiest eaters I know. She did the Palio diet for some months, and now regularly wakes up early for Boot Camp and cooks healthily for herself. She is a beast, and amazing. This is a pretty healthy soup to make, and it's FREAKING FREEZING outside, so it was the way to go.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do. I found it on BigOven, which is the first cooking app I had on my phone, and I haven't use a different one since. Sometimes, you just find that recipe that you're going to stick with for the rest of your life, and this is one of them. I'm positive this recipe would be just as good without chicken as a vegetarian option.

Ingredients:

One large yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 4oz can chopped green chilies (you can find this specific sized can at Trader Joe's or any main grocery store)
1 15oz can stewed tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Cholula
1 pound bonelessskinless chicken breast; cut into small cubes (raw- ew!)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
4 tablespoon flour
1/2 cups water
1 avocado 
8 corn tortillas
3 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, cook the onion until the onion is softened and fragrant, and then add the garlic in the oil
2. Add the chilies, tomatoes with their juice, broth, lemon pepper, Worcestershire, chili powder, cumin, pepper sauce, chicken, and cilantro. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour with the water and whisk it to mix well. Stir the flour mixture into the soup and bring it back to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the salt and pepper and garnish each portion with the tortilla strips, avocado, cheese, or whatever else you want on it

Tortilla strips:

1. Cut the tortillas into 1/4 inch strips
2. Melt the butter on a large pan under medium-high heat, and then arrange the tortilla strips in one layer, cooking until the strips start browning and getting stiff