ChickenGrrl's Tortilla Soup

We have a fan. I'm so tickled! ::waves merrily at ChickenGrrl:: You're undoubtedly insane to like us lunatics, but we definitely like you right back.

I was so tickled & charmed by her email, I'm pasting it in here so everyone can be so charmed:

Hola, whomever is doing the recipes at the moment. Somehow I have a feeling our dear sylph has other things on her mind...

Is it weird that I am a Hizzy Fan, but not a Hizzizen? I would love to be one as I'm very jealous of y'all - you may well be the most fun, literate group of people on TWoP - but couldn't possibly keep up with the Hizzy forum. Sigh.

I got this lovely recipe for Shortcut Tortilla Soup from the Dallas Morning News recently, and tried it tonight. I would love to share it with the Hizzy Chefs if you think anyone would like it? It was really easy, as the name suggests, but of course I had to make amendments. For example, if it is to make 5-6 servings as it says, I think you would want more avocado - one was perfect for Mr. Chicken and me, but I think that would be skimpy for 5 or 6, and you can never have too much avocado! I used mild salsa so I could control the amount of fire - I added a bit of Tiger Sauce for that. I also added a dash of worcestershire sauce, some garlic, onion, and chili powder, as well as a smidge of cayenne pepper. Oh, yeah, and I used faux chicken strips instead of actual chicken, being one of those freaky vegetarians. And the recipe calls for Gebhardt's enchilada sauce, which I couldn't find, so I used Old El Paso; I imagine any brand of non-green-chile enchilada sauce would be fine. It was excellent!

Also, if you don't know from Tex-Mex food or tortilla soup, you might not know for the tortilla strips to cut several corn tortillas in half then in strips and crisp them on the stove or in the oven. Some people prefer to put the tortilla strips in the bowl first, then ladle the soup over them; some like to add them on top so they stay crispier. Then garnish with the shredded cheese (I bought a pre-shredded mixture of jack and cheddar) and avocado, plus a dollop of sour cream if you like. Yum!

I'm pasting the recipe (including "preamble") below, with a link to the original article for propriety's sake. But if you don't feel it worthy of posting, I won't be offended. I just so enjoy reading all y'all's (that's the plural for "y'all," you know!) recipes (even if I never make any of them!) that I wanted to contribute something.

From the Dallas Morning News.

• 1 package Knorr tomato with basil soup mix
• 1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 ½ cups prepared salsa or picante sauce
• 1 (10-ounce) can Gebhardt's Enchilada Sauce
• 1 ½ to 2 cups diced, cooked chicken (frozen cooked chicken or breast meat from a rotisserie chicken)
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack or Longhorn cheddar cheese
• 1 ½ cups tortilla strips

In a medium saucepan, combine the soup mix with chicken broth, water, salsa and enchilada sauce. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the diced chicken, and, if using a rotisserie chicken, add the accumulated juices from the chicken.

Place avocado, cheese and tortilla strips in bowls so people can garnish their own soup. Serve the soup in warm, shallow soup bowls. Makes 5 to 6 servings.

PER SERVING: Calories 382 (46% fat) Fat 20 g (5 g sat) Chol 58 mg Sodium 1,440 mg Fiber 5 g Carb 30 g Protein 21 g