Tortilla Soup

I first made this on August 30, 2015 for a social-hour dish after church. The recipe is somewhat modified from one I found online at www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-tortilla-soup-recipe.html. The dish was well received.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 diced onions
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 jalapenos (seeded and sliced)
• 40 ounces frozen corn kernels
• 12 cups chicken broth
• 30 ounces diced tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel or equivalent)
• 20 ounces canned black beans
• 6 chicken breasts (or equivalent)
• 5 limes (four for juice and one to slice)
• 2 cups chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• About 20 fresh corn tortillas, sliced and fried in oil
• 2 ripe avocadoes (pitted and sliced)
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Instructions

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large iron skillet. Add chopped garlic and cook until it is slightly browned, then add diced onions and jalapeno slices and continue cooking until the onions are translucent. Place the cooked garlic, onions, and jalapenos into a large pot. Add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, diced green chilies, and beans to the pot and heat under moderate to high heat until the mixture begins to boil.

Add the chicken to the lightly boiling mixture and cook the chicken for about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the mixture to let it cool and transfer the heated mixture to a crock pot and allow it to continue simmering while the other ingredients are prepared. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove any skin and bones, shred the meat by hand, and set it aside to serve later.

In a dry, hot wok, roast the frozen corn kernels until the kernels begin to blacken. Set the corn aside. Slice the fresh corn tortillas into strips about half an inch wide and fry them in hot oil until browned and crisp. Drain and lightly salt the fried tortilla strips and place them in a bowl to serve later.

Squeeze the juice from about four limes into a bowl. Thinly slice and quarter one or two limes and add the slices to the juice bowl. Pit and slice the avocadoes and add the avocado slices or small chunks into the juice bowl. Coarsely chop the cilantro and add it to the juice bowl. About 15 minutes before serving, add the roasted corn, lime juice, chopped cilantro, avocado chunks, and lime slices to the simmering soup mixture. After 15 minutes or so of additional simmering, the soup can be served.

To serve the soup, place shredded chicken in a bowl, add a ladle full of soup to the bowl, sprinkle shredded cheese on the soup, and add fried tortillas strips.