Taken from a cookbook my mother in law got for me, the wife whipped up this fantastic tortilla soup in about 45 minutes. The soup is hearty and filling with tremendous flavor. I would highly recommend making the salsa below, instead of adding in some generic salsa, the flavor mixes in well. I didn’t get any pictures this time around, camera battery was dead from my spicy spanakopita that I whipped up this past weekend.

Ingredients:

• 6 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Salt to taste, plus 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 Yellow Onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups red salsa (recipe to follow)
• 3 tablespoons Chipotle Tabasco Hot Sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 handfuls corn tortilla chips

Garnishes

• Fresh Cliantro
• Chopped Yellow Onion
• Romano Cheese (grated)
• Sour Cream

Steps:
1. In a deep frying pan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste and add to the stock. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook until tender and opaque throughout, 8-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken breasts, wrap in a damp towel and set aside to cool. Reserve the stock.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the vegetable oil. Add the onion, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of the fresh ground pepper and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until soft, but not browned, 2-3 minutes longer. Add the salsa, reserved chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

3. Using your fingers, shred the cooled chicken meat into long thin strips. Add to the pan along with the tortilla chips. Stir well, taste and adjust the seasonings. Continute to simmer over medium heat for 3-4 minutes to soften the chips slightly. The chips should still be half crispy.

4. Ladle the soup into warmed soup bowls. Garnish each serving with cilantro, onion, cheese and a spoonful of sour cream. Serve immediately.

Red Salsa Recipe

• 2 tlbs veg oil
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 fresh jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and sliced
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 2 cups (12 oz) canned plum roma tomatoes with juices

Steps
1. In sauce pan, warm veg oil. Add onion and saute until soft. Add the garlic, jalapeno and salt and cook for two more minutes. Addd tomatoes and juices, reduce the heat to low.
Cook tomotoes, stirring occasionally, until the juices have been reduced by half (about 10 minutes). Let cool and then transfer to blender or food processer and puree until smooth. Then strain through a sieve. Set aside to cook completly if your going to use for a table salsa, otherwise use as described in the recipe above.