Mexican Tortilla Chicken Soup

I am going to try to pull a fast one this week and enter the same recipe for both Tyler Florence Fridays and Souper Sundays- is that okay? I have a couple reasons for this- 1. its school vacation and everything is crazy, 2. I have been helping to clean my grandfather's house just about every day this week- and therefore not been here as much, and 3. I bought Rachel Ray's new magazine this week, and have been looking at that more than anything, just about every recipe looks great!!

First, I am going to complain about buying chicken at BJ's Wholesale Club, where I usually shop. They used to carry frozen chicken, 10lbs in a big bag, loose, already cleaned up, easy to get out. When I went last week, they have replaced it with a bag of this:
The bag is only half the size and each breast is individually wrapped! I was disgusted with the waste of plastic here. Since I was out of chicken, I did buy it this once, but I won't again.

I took all 4 kids to the grocery store to get a couple things- I forgot how much I dislike that process. I dislike the grocery store in general (as I said I prefer BJ's) but with the kids- I think I said "no" probably 100 times. can I have, can I have.....

For this recipe I needed to buy jalapenos- which I had never purchased before. There was a bin with at least 6 choices, each with their own "hotness" level. I chose these, which were the most mild as I didn't want to worry about burning my eyes out or scarring the children...

Mexican Tortilla Chicken Soup

(my changes to the recipe)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (canola oil)
2 medium white onions, diced (one very large)
2 garlic cloves, minced (four- we like garlic)
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped (one can diced & seasoned tomatoes)
1 quart chicken stock (2 quarts using Minor's Chicken Base)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
I also added some cayenne pepper & cumin

Canola oil, for pan-frying
8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (2 breasts)
2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced (only one)
1 cup shredded Jack cheese, optional (low fat cheddar)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish (parsley)
1 lime, cut in wedges, for serving

Directions

In the morning, I poached the chicken breasts by putting them into a 11X14 baking dish, covering with water and cooking in 400 degree convection until they were done- or floating.
Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1-inch of canola oil in a skillet over medium-high flame. When the oil begins to smoke, add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until they are crisp on all sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined platter and sprinkle with salt while they are still hot. I found I had to begin removing them before they were done as the last ones would end up burnt.
Ladle the hot soup into 4 soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each. Top with the diced avocado and fried tortilla strips (and cheese if using). Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com here.

final thoughts: Very good! Adam is a big fan of spicy things, so he thought it was excellent. I liked it too, but I was glad for the cheese & avocado to temper the heat of the soup. As I was cutting the peppers, they did not seem hot at all so I added in the extra spices. But, judging by how spicy the finished product was; I guess they did have a little kick to them. One of the girls were having a sleepover- so with the remaining three one thought it was good but the other two thought it was too spicy. Although- they had talked me into sushi at the store and had eaten that first so they were not really hungry when this was done.

In other news- our first egg is hatching today and we are all very excited!! If you are interested, you can follow the progress on my other blog Sogkonnite Chickens.