Chicken tortilla soup... as promised by the scrumptious picture.

Ok so this is gonna be quick because it is delicious and I should share the recipe with everyone. But I warn you now, once you eat this you will never want to eat any other chicken tortilla soup ever again.

This recipe is for one big pot, but I have not made just one pot of this in ages. So go buy an extra soup pot and make two.

Cut three big fat bright red tomatoes in half an put the in a baking pan. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put this in a 400 - 450 degree oven. Yes, you are roasting you own tomatoes. No you are not allowed to use canned tomatoes in this soup. If you use canned tomatoes just go ahead and stop following my blog right now. I think I have already done this rant so I will spare you. Just roast your own tomatoes, it's really easy, really healthy and really cheap. Go to the canned tomato section of your grocer and throw all the cans on the floor, take a picture of yourself doing this and send it to me. That would make me smile.

Here is your prep to make putting it all together easy. Chop up 2-3 yellow squash, 2 zucchinis, 1 big onion, one stalk of celery and the green parts of a few green onion. Check you tomatoes, if they are wrinkly and cooked pull em out and let them sit out to cool so that you can handle them. Put a chopped onion into the bottom of your soup pot with some olive oil and heat until the onions brown a bit. Add two boxes of vegetable or chicken broth to the pot. Take 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce out of the can and slice em up. If you have never used chipotle peppers in adobo sauce you can find it in a little can in the "International" section of your grocery. Cut the kernels off one ear of corn and set aside.

Once your tomatoes are cooled enough to handle the skins should slide ride off. You can discard these, but I throw them into a blender with a little water and then just liquify it and add it to the soup. Waste not, want not. Use your hands to mash up the tomatoes into the pot. Do this slowly and well. Take your time. Squeezing cooked tomatoes between your fingers might be one of the most fun things to do ever.

Put the sliced chipotle peppers into the pot and if it is boiling throw in your chicken. I use two boneless, skinless breasts and 4 boneless, skinless thighs. Do not cut them up, just toss them in whole. While you let this boil for a while take your corn and put it in a little pan with a little oil and start to cook it. You are kind of pan roasting the corn kernels to get tossed on top of the soup when you serve it.

Take a break, drink some wine, let the chicken burl.

Now take your drunk butt back and add the squash and zucchini. Pull out the chicken with tongs and rough chop. It should kind of fall apart a bit as you're cutting it up. Bite size pieces ppl, bite size. Return chicken to the soup. Add celery to the soup.

If you can find Menudo seasoning in the spice section at your grocery, stock up on it. If you can't get a bag of taco seasoning. At this point you will either be adding the taco seasoning, about 2/3 of the bag, or menudo seasoning, about two heaping spoonfuls. Also add a good heaping spoonful of cumin and two spoons of the adobo sauce from the can the peppers came out of.

Slice up an avocado and break out some sour cream. Slice two limes and juice them into the soup. Your soup should have been simmering to low boiling the whole time. Taste the broth, please blow on it first, I don't need a lawsuit from some crazy person who drank boiling soup. You may need to add salt at this point. Really the only way you wouldn't need to add salt is if you used the saltiest broth EVER and a bag of taco seasoning that used MSG. Yup, that's right. MSG is still in nearly everything. Read your labels. Add sea salt and cracked black pepper until the soup is uber delicious. Turn the heat off.

Take some corn tortillas and slice them into 1 inch slices. Toss these in a little oil and lots of salt and pepper. Put them on a cookie sheet or foil and bake them in a 375 degree oven for just a few minutes until they get crispy. Keep a close eye on them because it is way easier to burn these than to get them right.

Presentation...

Big bowl of soup

Top with big dollup of sour cream. Do a dollup, do do a dollup.

Sprinkle with the roasted corn

Top with sliced avocado

Sprinkle sliced green onion around the edge

Top with tortilla strips

This soup is my crowning jewel. I love it and so does everyone who tries it. Just try it, you will never look back.

Again, pardon the typos. I promise to come back and edit them out later. Much love and check out the delicious pics.