You know those days that you just cannot decide what you want to eat? The days when nothing sounds good, but you have 95 percent of the components of four different dishes that desperately need to be used up. Yesterday was one of those days in Andiland. I finally decided that I would get the remaining 3 elements that I needed for a stir fry (basically just needed a protein) and to make tortilla soup, thinking that if I made both I could have the soup for lunch or just freeze it. Fast forward to actually getting home and cooking dinner and I was just too tired to cook both – so soup was on the menu. I have always thought that the name of tortilla soup is funny. For starters, I do not eat tortilla chips with my tortilla soup – at this point does it just become Mexican tomato soup with chicken? I guess tortilla soup stills sounds better. Then you have people claiming to have roasted tortilla soup. What is roasted? The tomatoes? The Chicken? Could be anything or nothing really. Then you have smoked tortilla soup – when can also be chicken or the peppers. In my case I suppose I made Smoked non-tortilla tortilla soup because I used smoked chipotle peppers in adobo. Good enough for me! The beauty of this soup is that it is flavorful, can be adapted any which way, is healthy (go light on the cheese), and can easily be a pantry meal when you cannot get to the store. Additionally, you can make this in 30 minutes or let it slow cook. It is also adaptable for vegetarian diets (leave out the chicken) and has no gluten or dairy (omit cheese) so it can be great for those sensitivities.

Note: I would have rather used fresh, roasted tomatoes but I only had one and a can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes – so that is what went in. I think I should have used a little less as the end result was a bit too tomatoey (though I could have added more stock – just did not want to make a HUGE portion). Additionally, I used chipotle peppers in adobo as my main source of spice – feel free to use dried chipotle peppers, cayenne, jalapeno, or whatever your pleasure is. I used a little more than half a can, I think I could have used a bit less. The end result was quite spicy and smoky, not necessarily a bad thing as D and I like both elements very much, but cooking for others I would have reduced it.Also, I hate bell peppers. Normally you would put some in a tortilla soup, but given my aversion, I could only manage to put maybe a quarter in (it was pre-diced as well because I cannot stand the smell of bell peppers at any stage of their journey).

Tortilla Soup, Serves 3-4

One can Muir Glen Organic Fire-Roasted Tomatoes (Crushed, Diced, or Whole)
One Medium Tomato, roughly chopped
Four cups chicken broth
One White Onion, diced
Six cloves garlic, minced
Two tablespoons Cumin Seeds
One tablespoon Adobo
Two tablespoons Oregano
One Tablespoon Ground Coriander
One Tablespoon Tumeric powder
One Tablespoon Garlic powder (optional)
Nine Sprigs Fresh Thyme
One cup frozen sweet corn (optional)
One quarter green bell pepper, diced (use more if desired)
One Chicken breast, shredded (pre-cooked or cooked in soup, can also use dark meat with same method)
Juice of one lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish

Avocado Slices
Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
Fresh Fried Corn Tostadas
Lime Wedges

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a stock pot. Once heated, add the onions, cumin seeds, and garlic to the pan with a pinch of salt. If using chicken, place that in pan as well to brown the outsides.* Stir and allow to cook for a couple of minutes then add all ground spices. Add broth and tomatoes to pan, stir well. Add bell peppers (this should be done with the onions, but I cannot stand the smell of them cooking so I added them to the liquid) and thyme sprigs. Let the mixture simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes – you can actually make this a very quick meal or a slow-cooked meal if you prefer. The flavors will be more developed the longer it cooks so if you have the time to start it and let it sit for about two or three hours that will be fine. After about 30 minutes, add the lime juice and about a half cup to a cup of fresh chopped cilantro. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a small garnish bowl of avocado, fresh cilantro, a lime wedge, shredded cheese and a freshly fried whole tortilla (heat a small amount of oil in a pan and fry corn tortilla one each side until it bubbles and curls).

*If using pre-cooked chicken, shred and add in about 10 minutes from when you will ladle soup out so that chicken does not over-cook. If using raw chicken, brown on all sides with onions, then allow chicken to slowly cook with the simmering stew (about 40 minutes). Remove from pan and shred if necessary, if using wings, legs, and thighs then remove bones from soup before serving.