Best soup EVER!!!

"Tortilla Soup"

Tonight, my husband, Dick, and I made homemade soup together. Part of our new lifestyle after Dick retired, is cooking together. Secretly, I'm hoping that he will like it so much that he will take over the cooking chore. 😀  Anyway, I found this recipe in a People Magazine and it's one of the best soups I've ever had. Here's the recipe: Enjoy!!!

Tortilla Soup

From Karen Knutson

(serves 8)

2 ½ lbs. chicken breasts

4 dried ancho chiles OR 4 dried pasilla chiles

4 cup chicken broth (2 cans)

3 fresh tomatoes, chopped

3 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 tsp. Kosher salt, or to taste

¾ large white onion, diced

1 large bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Tortilla strips (you can buy these at Byerly’s near the fresh soup deli)

Fresh spinach

About 3 or 4 avacados (pitted, peeled and diced)

About 1 cup feta cheese

8-10 fresh mushrooms, sliced in large slices or ¼ cubes

In a large stockpot, bring chicken and broth to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, place chiles in another medium saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chiles are soft, about 10 minutes.  Then, Drain the chile.  Let cool slightly and then, remove the seeds, stems, and veins.  Cut into strips and set aside.

 With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from pot and, after it cools, cut into cubes (if you plan to freeze this, make the cubes large, if not, make them about 1” cubes).  Set aside the stockpot of broth.

Place the chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and salt in a food processor or blender.  Process until smooth, adding ½ cup of the reserved broth if the mixture is too thick.

Stir the chile puree and half of the cilantro into the broth.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Add salt if needed.  Stir in the chicken and the remaining cilantro.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Add mushrooms the last 5 minutes.  Add remaining cilantro just before serving.

In bowls, place about 4 or 5 spinach leaves in the bottom of the bowl.  Then add soup, and top with avocado, about 1 T. feta cheese, and the tortilla strips.  Serve immediately.  

**This recipe is a revised version, From Eva Longoria (of Desperate Housewives)  from People magazine.