So I pretty much love tortilla soup...ok actually I love most soup...but tortilla soup has a special place in my heart. This recipe came from Rachael Ray but it's called Jane Foxs Tortilla Soup...and I tried to figure out who Jane Fox was but I still don't know who the hell this lady is. But she can make a damn good tortilla soup so I am pretty sure I like her. I can tell you that when I first saw the recipe I read it as Jamie Fox and I thought to myself hmmm that's weird I wonder why Jamie Fox, the comedian,  has a tortilla soup recipe, but I quickly realized I was just reading it wrong.



Last night I decided I just needed a night at home. I was tired, I was fried and I truly needed an attitude adjustment. So it became me against the kitchen. This tortilla soup has great flavor due to the chili powder and cumin, it is zesty but not so hot that you want to cry and great accouterments in the form of avocado, lime, cheese and tortilla strips. To steal Rachael Ray's phrase this recipe is truly yum-o!!!

Just in case you wanted to know a few things about tortilla soup:

• Did you know there is a movie called Tortilla Soup that came out in 2001? I haven't watched it but I thought you might want to do a theme night so I included that little bit of trivia
• Tortilla soup was created as a way to use leftovers, especially stale chips. No one loves stale chips so thought this was a good idea. 
• It is believed that tortilla soup originated in the Mexico City area 
• And in case you want additional tortilla soup reading material here is a great LA Times article on the soup of the night: http://articles.latimes.com/2005/nov/30/food/fo-tortillasoup30

This recipe is very easy to make. Start by cutting 6 tortillas in strips and cooking them in the oven, after spraying them with cooking spray. Take another 6 tortillas and cut into squares and saute them in corn oil. I used vegetable oil and they seemed to turn out just fine. Then add the onion, garlic, cilantro, bay leaves and spices. Cook for about 7 minutes and add the broth and diced tomatoes. I like that this recipe doesn't have tomato overkill...nice flavor but not so many tomato chunks that you want to gag.



This recipe is made even easier by the fact that it uses rotisserie chicken...and actually because I am a lazy grocery shopper I bought grilled chicken breasts at the Vons deli counter because I didn't want to wait the 30 minutes for the rotisserie chickens to be ready. And I have to say I really liked these and I would totally buy them again...actually think the charred flavor from the grilled chicken breasts added to the flavor of the soup...but I can't verify that for real.



Finally to serve the soup put avocado and lime juice on the bottom of the bowl. Pour in the soup and top with jalapeno, queso fresco and tortilla strips. I had this soup with a crisp white wine and I have to say I was truly very happy.

Ingredients

• 12 corn tortillas, 6 sliced lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips and 6 cut into 1 1/2 squares

• Vegetable cooking spray

• Salt and pepper

• 1/4 corn oil

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• A handful cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped.

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tablespoons mild to medium chili powder, such as Gephardt's or ground ancho chile powder (about a couple scant palmfuls)

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin (about a palmful)

• 6 cups chicken stock

• 1 15 ounce can  diced tomatoes with green chiles

• 2 rotisserie chicken breasts, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded or diceed

• 2 avocados

• 2 limes, cut into wedges

• 1 small red onion, finely chopped

• 2 large jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and chopped

• Crumbled queso fresco and sour cream, for topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees . Arrange the tortilla strips on a baking sheet in a single layer; spray with cooking spray. Bake until deep golden, about 15 minutes. Season with salt.
2. Meanwhile, in a soup pot or dutch oven, heat 3 tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add the tortilla squares and cook, stirring, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tbsp. oil, the yellow onion, garlic, cilantro, bay leaves, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the spices are toasted and the onion is softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and lower the heat to a simmer until ready to serve.
3. Peel, seed and dice the avocados. Place some at the bottom of each soup bowl and douse with a healthy squeeze of lime juice. Pour the soup into the bowls. At the table, top with the red onion, baked tortilla strips, jalapenos, queso fresco and sour cream. Serve with the remaining lime wedges.

Now for my Sunday night toast-here is to hoping for a better week ahead. Last week kicked my ass and I really don't need another week like that for awhile. So cheers my friends!!!