How To Make Tortilla Soup

 What is it about soup anyway?

No matter what time or season,

There doesn't have to be a rhyme or reason

If I start to droop or life tries to fling me away;

I try not to despair, or cry in my hair

I just reach for a pot, and its lid

(you knew that, of course.)

Then I look in the pantry past the dust and the candy

I think I will create a wonderful soup

That fills up  that horrible ache in my heart

Where love will play its part

So healing will start.

·          Even having lived in the Sonoran Desert I was clueless about tortilla soup until I saw the movie by the same name. That was more than just a few years ago and although I have attempted to prepare this nourishing dish several times I have been at a total loss. As I said, "totally clueless". Then hubby and I went to Bass Pro Shops, hubby to drool over the pistoles ha and I to watch the fish and dream of an even BIGGER aquarium!

This time we checked out the general store and I am glad we did. We bought a bag of tortilla soup, you know the kind, everything you need included? Well, not everything...anyway I stirred the pot and it was good but it only whetted my appetite for "the real thang!"

So once again I went on a research trip through virtual space and time. I went looking not only for a recipe but for the origin of the soup itself.

Here is what I found:

1.    In Mexico City this soup is very simple, roasted tomatoes, chiles, chicken broth, tortillas.

2.    The tortillas are corn; they are fried and placed into the broth at the last minute.

3.    Or the tortillas are not specified as to either being flour or corn but are still fried and served on the side.

4.    The Wikipedia has two entries on origins of tortilla soup and both are still BLANK!

Once Again Into the Fray!

So, there I was again, starving and exhausted, my eyes were crossing....OK OK no more iambic pentameter I promise (sorta)

Hubby, being the best friend that he is, suggested I copy the one from Bass Pro Shop so together we tried to list the ingredients, the way it was put together and how long it took  then we made a list. The following recipe pictures was done this date 062109 (Father's Day) and oh my stars and wishes is it EVER GOOD!!!! The best part was it took less than an hour, start to finish and did not take a lot of extra ingredients!

The only sad thing is all my cornbread ingredients were used up!

Hubby said my soup was so good we didn't need cornbread anyway.

Ain't he just the sweetest?

Ingredients

·         Beef broth, large container

·         two cups of grated cheese, your choice (I like four cheese but just plan Monterrey Jack would be delicious I bet)

·         two big cans of diced tomatoes

·         small can of diced green chiles

·         one can of corn, drained

·         one can of beans, drained (I used the pink beans, pinto would work well too)

·         one medium onion

·         minced garlic

·         6-10 corn tortillas, just play it by ear, see how it looks to you, this makes part of the topping for your soup

·         cumin

·         oregano

·         salt

·         pepper (I love lemon pepper)

·         cilantro (leaves)

Preparation

1.    Get your stock pot out, remember, soup is like boiling pasta, even if you are just doing a little the larger the pot the better it will taste

2.    Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom and turn stove to medium high

3.    Chop the onion and put the onion with a bit of garlic (I like garlic, your choice) into the pot and sauté

4.    Turn stove to high and add broth, tomatoes, beans, corn and all the seasonings

5.    Put the lid on, turn stove to simmer and wait for 40 minutes

6.    Turn stove back to medium high, add the corn tortillas torn into little pieces and just place on top, DO NOT STIR!

7.    Add he cheese on top of the corn tortillas

8.    Turn stove back to simmer and wait 15 minutes

9.    Ladle into bowls and enjoy!