Chicken cheese tortilla soup
Another soup recipe to share with you. This one I sometimes think is the reason my sister drives six hours from Denver with kids and dog to come visit. Especially when paired with our special cornbread, the recipe for which I’ll share with you next week.
In a big soup pot (I use a medium size cast iron dutch oven pot without legs), over medium heat, sauté until tender:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
Continue cooking and stir in:
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups chopped green chilies, or a mixture of chilies and jalapenos
2 tablespoons flour
Then, add:
1 can cooked chicken meat (or 2 cups leftover chicken)
4 cups chicken broth, or bouillon
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ – ½ teaspoon hot sauce
Optional: add a can of pinto beans and/or a can of posole
Cover and cook over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Then stir in until hot, smooth and well blended:
8 ounces processed cheese (Velveeta or similar), diced into 1 inch cubes
1 cup cream, or evaporated milk
½ cup sour cream
Meanwhile… be making the “garnish!” Nice fancy word for a simple thing here. Tortilla chips, homemade from store bought tortillas, to pile on top of each bowl of soup. I use whatever type of tortilla I have on hand: flour or corn or a combination of the two. Get a big cast iron skillet heating with a bit of vegetable oil over medium heat, cut about 5 or 6 burrito size, 8-9 small size tortillas into triangles or strips. I pile the stack of tortillas together and use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut through the whole batch at once, so this goes pretty quickly. Then I fry them up in the pan, tossing them with a spatula often, until they are browned and crisp. Sprinkle with salt. If you can find it, there’s a lemon/lime salt that some folks use for Mexican beer. Try this on your chips. It’s our favorite.
The soup makes 6+ big, rich servings. As a family of three here, we usually have the soup for dinner one day, and leftovers for lunch the following day. Just as good (maybe better?) on day two.