Tortilla Soup: How It Turned Out

A huge, heartfelt thank you to my dear friends and family, and fellow cooks who cooked Tortilla Soup with me last night…from their own kitchens across the continent. It really means a lot to me to have participants and for us to create together…without having “too many cooks in the kitchen!”

Beautiful soup and presentation a la Toni Markow, my wonderful MIL.

A very hearty bowl (and look at that backdrop!) from my dear friend, Amber.

And, last but not least, two adorable bowls from two adorable people, Jenna & Nick.

My absolute favorite part of seeing your beautiful meals is that I could tell who’s was who’s without seeing the names! Everyone made their dish their own, which is the key to cooking.

I hope to see you all back here on Wednesday night for… “Oh, what’s that? You don’t know what we’re making yet?” HMMMM…. ;)

Monday Night: (Chicken) Tortilla Soup

So here it is! Tonight we will make Chicken Tortilla Soup (feel free to omit the chicken and it will be “almost” as tasty!) This soup is like most soup, fast, simple, something I think you will be happy to know won’t take much more out of you than this Monday already has, but will leave you feeling satisfied and maybe even a little spicy. 

You will need:

3 corn tortillas, cut into strips OR a handful of tortilla chips broken up

2 cups chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes(fire-roasted or regular)

1 Chipotle Chile in Adobo sauce, chopped fine (Start with 1/2, taste then add more if more spice is desired)

2/3 cup salsa

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

1 cup shredded chicken (from a store-bought rotisserie chicken)

salt and pepper

1 avocado, sliced

sour cream, for serving

cilantro, chopped for serving

Tonight, we’ll only use about 2 cups of the shredded chicken.

Is there anything better than a ripe, buttery avocado?

A little bit of cilantro goes a long way.

There are a few different directions you can go with this soup, which is part of what makes it so easy and lovable. For instance, if you want to use corn tortillas, simply cut them up into strips, toss them on a cookie sheet, spray them with cooking spray, and bake them at 375 for about 10 minutes while your soup is simmering. If you want to go the easy route (yeah, I’m lookin’ at you), just crunch up a few tortilla chips on top of your soup when you serve it.

Other than that, here’s what the rest of the soup looks like. (I’ll write it out because it looks a lot nicer than saying “JUST DUMP IT IN THE POT.” …Even though that’s all we’re really doing. ;) 

*Combine chicken broth, tomatoes, chipotle chile, salsa, and corn in saucepan.  Bring soup to a boil then turn to low and simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir the chicken into the soup, season with salt and pepper.  Serve with avocado slices, sour cream, tortilla strips, and cilantro. Makes 2 BIG bowls.

While you’re cooking tonight, feel free to take pics and shout it through the interwebs using the hashtag #cookingwithalli, or email me at armarkow@gmail.com. I would love to see how your meals turn out and share them on my blog!