Southwestern Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup was born of necessity on a cold winter day. I love chicken soup--I believe it heals what ails you--but it can get just a little on the bland and boring side. A few little twists give it a nice little kick. Also, this was an opportunity to try out a great little trick suggested by Sara Foster who suggested simply using sliced tortillas boiled for a few minutes to make dumplings. It works perfectly. I use about half broth and half water for the liquid, because I don't really like it strong: I like to be able to taste the vegetables and seasonings, so you can adjust the ratios of broth to water however you'd like. A word of explanation: I originally started making chicken noodle soup, so the picture has carrots and celery in it, which weren't bad, but I probably wouldn't suggest them in this version of the soup.


Southwestern Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• About 2 - 3 cups chicken broth
• About 2 - 3 cups water
• 1 large uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
  
• 1 heaping tablespoon diced green chilies
• about 1/2 cup corn
• 1 large flour tortilla, cut into strips
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely diced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• shredded cheese, to top

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a large pot, add the chicken, onion, and chilies and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Shred the chicken breast, and add back to the broth. Add the corn and the tortilla strips. Allow it to simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the strips plump up. Add the tomato, avocado, and cilantro. Stir and allow it to heat through. You don't want to cook these last additions--just heat them. Season to taste, then ladle into bowls and serve with shredded cheese.