Texas Tortilla Soup!

When we lived in TX there was a fabulous store called Central Market. It specialize in fresh, healthy, and organic food and had lots of amazingly tasty and unique foods.... They have a fantastic bulk section of everything from sour gummies to dried mangos and kosher salt. It even had a yummilicious cafe and fresh gelato stand that was to die for. They also have a section of prepless food kits- all kinds of veggies and ingredients chopped up to make fresh spaghetti, kabobs, soups, etc.... and our FAVORITE was Tortilla Soup- either from the prepless section or bought freshly made. The best we've ever had... and trust me, we have tried it at LOTS of restuarants. So when we moved I was so sad to not have the recipe. After craving it for a few months, I finally called them desperate. They were nice. I've got the recipe. The real deal. It's oh so fabulous. We had it for dinner last night. And I should have taken a pic but we gobbled it all up too fast. So the one above is just a random one off flickr. Here it is! Enjoy!





Tortilla Soup

Makes 8 8-ounce servings


2 TBS Chili powder
1 TBS Cumin
1 Bay Leaf
Salt
1 cup diced onions (1 large onion)
1 tbs minced garlic
1 serrano pepper, seeds removed and diced
1 cup green bell pepper, diced (1 bell pepper)
1 cup fresh diced tomatoes
2 quarts chicken broth (or 8 cups water with boullion added)
Chicken, cooked and shredded (about 2 cups- I just get the cooked Costco chicken and dice or shred the meat)
1 lime
2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
Tortilla chips
Sour cream
Avocado slices- optional
Shredded Cheese- optional


•Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large stock pot; sauté onion, garlic and peppers until onions are translucent.
•Add the dry spices (chili powder, cumin, bay leaf, and salt) and cook for 1 minute.
•Add tomatoes and continue cooking 3 minutes.
•Add 2 quarts (8 cups) of chicken broth and bring to boil; if adding chicken, add in 2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
•After the 30 minutes is up, add chopped cilantro, lime juice and 3/4 cup crushed tortilla chips. Stir well.
•Serve and garnish with sour cream, avocado slices, additional tortilla chips and cheese if desired. If you want it less spicy, don't add the serrano pepper or add less chili powder... but really, the recipe is perfect as is!