Great Soup Recipe

For a long time I have been interested in the idea of making tortilla soup. I didn't know exactly what that would entail, but I like Mexican spices like cumin and cilantro and cayenne pepper. I don't know how 'authentically Mexican' this recipe is, but we LOVED it. And Jay doesn't usually like soup. He finds that usually it is not satisfying, that it leaves him hungry. This soup was very hearty and thick, almost like a stew. I would like to share the recipe, then this way I have access to it if I am away from home and want to make it. I started with this recipe and made some adjustments to make it more to our tastes.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 handfuls of tortilla chips, crushed (the recipe called for 8 corn tortillas, so I got some from the grocery store, however when we opened them up to chop them up they were moldy, so we threw them out and used corn tortilla chips, the tortillas break down as the soup cooks and thicken it)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
7-8 cups chicken stock
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cooked and shredded chicken breasts

Garnishes
Fresh limes
Sour cream
Tortilla chips
Diced avocado
Shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add the tortillas, garlic, onion, cilantro jalapeno and celery and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.
4. Add cumin and chili powder.
5. Add chicken stock and return to a boil.
6. Add frozen corn and black beans.
7. Reduce heat, add cayenne pepper and simmer for 30 minutes.
8. Add shredded chicken and red peppers and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
9. Garnish soup with shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh lime juice, and crushed tortilla chips.

This is how we made it yesterday, the only thing I would do differently next time is to leave the cilantro out and use it as a garnish at the end. I didn't find we could taste a lot of cilantro in the soup after it cooked for an hour or so. Otherwise it as absolutely delicious!