Yummy Homemade Tortilla Soup

I just ate another bowl of the awesomely delicious chicken tortilla soup I made the other day and thought I might share it. I am very proud of myself, as I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. Enjoy!

LaLa's Homemade Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
olive oil
chicken breasts
chicken stock (I usually use the boxed, free range/organic kind, which equals out to about six cups)
water
minced garlic
chopped calabacitas (yellow and green)
chopped tomatoes
chopped onion
chopped carrots
kidney beans
chopped hot green chile & green chile sauce (505 brand is the best!)
blue corn tortilla strips/chips
salt and pepper to taste

** quantities vary according to how many folks you'll serve (plus I'm pretty free form when it comes to quantities when cooking my own stuff, otherwise I follow recipes to a “t”)

How to:
1. Sauté the garlic in olive oil until lightly browned, add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent.

2. Add the carrots and calabacitas and cook until they begin to soften (roughly 7 mins)

3. Add the tomatoes and kidney beans, cook a bit longer (about 3-4 more minutes), stirring frequently

4. Add the chicken stock, water, green chile sauce and green chile. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 mins, stirring occasionally. The reason I used the green chile sauce was because: one, I love the flavor of the one 505 makes and two, I was feeling somewhat lazy and didn’t want to make my own slurry – which I sometimes muck up because I’m too impatient to let it develop before I add more to whatever soup I’m cooking. The sauce gave the soup the perfect consistency and it was super easy! I added some chopped hot green chile just add a bit more to the “heft” of the soup and some additional flavor.

5. Put in the fridge over night. Letting almost any soup sit over night really helps to develop the flavors, I've found. It never tastes quite as good as it does the next day, or the next.

6. When you’re ready to heat up the soup for dinner, prep your bowl by crushing some blue or yellow corn tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl (you can fry/bake your own tortilla strips, but I was running out of time preparing for my guests). Top with a heaping portion of soup and lots and lots of cheese on top!

7. Enjoy with a Mexican beer!!