Good morning, friends!
I hope you all are staying warm! I’m sharing one of my very most favorite soup recipes ever! I love this Homemade Tortilla Soup!
We have had such cold, cold weather here in Texas…for like…the past 3 months! I know that many of you have suffered the wrath of this cold winter, too. It’s ridiculous and I’m very annoyed by it…and quite frankly extremely grumpy about it.
Because of this freezing weather, school was cancelled a couple of days ago. Yes, you read that right…March 3rd and school was cancelled due to ice on the roads here in Texas! My children (and husband) were home and it was freezing cold outside, I treated them to this homemade Tortilla Soup for lunch!
It’s no secret that I love a good, easy, made from scratch soup. And it’s certainly no secret, in my home, that the only positive that comes from cold weather is I pull out all of my yummy soup recipes! No complaints about that. *Let me just add that it is my opinion that the only thing better than homemade soup is homemade bread with soup.* And in the book of What-Foods-Go-With-What-According-to-Megan (my husband has actually requested that I write him this book…lol…he’s a funny man) Tortilla Soup does not require homemade bread…FYI! 😉 This soup is not perfect on the calorie count though, but at least I’m not sitting at the table with half a loaf of bread, butter and a big bowl of creamy, cheese-ish soup 😉 which is my alternative favorite soup option. What I like about this Tortilla Soup is that it’s a versatile soup. Meaning you can eat it more thin and broth-y or you can beef it up and make it more chunky and hearty and oh-so-good with the garnishments. It’s a tasty soup and has a little bit of bite to it! I buy the mild Rotel tomatoes because the original are a bit too spicy for mi familia. If you can’t handle any spice you could always substitute the Rotel with plain diced tomatoes. But I like the spice, it warms you up and clears the sinuses!
This isn’t really a tutorial…but I took a few pictures and have a couple of pointers on how I’ve streamlined the process of making Tortilla Soup. It usually takes me about 30 minutes from setting up the chopper to sitting at the table eating it. Providing your chicken is already cooked. I buy a rotisserie chicken, but chicken breast cooked in the crock pot works great too!
Gather all of the ingredients. That way everything is at your fingertips and ready to go and you don’t find yourself scrambling as the onions and garlic are burning! Seems like common sense, I know, but do you know how long it took for me to learn this lesson in my cooking life?! LOL
Mince, chop or puree the onion…whichever you prefer. You can do this by hand but I use a machine whenever possible! I picked up a little Kitchen Aid Chopper several years ago on clearance! I use it all the time. It works great for chopping and grinding and is small and not as bulky as a food processor and really quick to clean up. It’s also a lot less expensive than a food processor.
To cut the tortillas into little squares I stack 2 at a time and use a pizza cutter, which makes it super fast and easy.
You start by heating the olive oil and cooking the onion and garlic in the pan. Once the onion and garlic have cooked for a few minutes and are smelling yummy you dump everything into the pan!
Bring to a boil and let simmer!
Told you…easy, peasy!
While the soup is simmering I prepare the garnishments. I like to use shredded Monterey Jack cheese. But I’ve used whatever is in the fridge too…Cheddar, Mexican Mix, Colby, Pepperjack.
Extra Avocados are a must! They make the soup!
Once the soup has simmered, fill your bowl and garnish.
I crunch up a couple of tortilla chips, sprinkle some cheese and pile on the Avocados!
It’s a fiesta in a bowl is all I’ve got to say! And looking at this picture makes me want to make some more right now!
The recipe I use is as follows:
Tortilla Soup
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
3 tsp. minced garlic
3 tablespoons cornstarch
8 cups chicken broth
2 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with chiles (Rotel)
4 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite size pieces (or 1 large rotisserie chicken)
6-8 corn tortillas, diced
3-4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Salt (or to taste)
Tortilla Chips (or strips), diced avocado and shredded Monterey Jack cheese, optional, for garnish
Instructions
1) In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat Add the minced onion and garlic and cook until the onion begins to turn translucent
2) Add the cornstarch to the chicken broth and whisk. Add to the pot as you whisk the mixture to keep the cornstarch from collecting at the bottom. Add the chicken, corn tortillas, lime juice, tomatoes, and all the spices.
3) Increase the heat to medium and stir. When the soup comes to a bubble, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Serve topped with tortilla chips, diced avocado, and shredded cheese.
Thanks for stopping by!
Happy day!
Megan
