7 days, 7 dinners, day 3: tortilla soup

Last night's dinner was tortilla soup. It was fresh, flavorful, and easy to make. Here's the recipe I have developed over the years:

Gleanfreak Tortilla Soup

1 cut up chicken, all parts but breasts
7 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 can Ro-tel diced tomatoes with chilies
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 small avocado, chopped
grated cheddar cheese
low-fat sour cream
tortilla chips
lime wedges

Put about 6 cups of water in a pot, take 1/2 of the onion and slice it thickly and dump it into the pot with 2 smashed garlic cloves. Leave skin on the chicken, but cut off all the fat you can see. Put the chicken into the pot and boil till it is done, then let it sit in the fridge several hours, or overnight.

Take the chicken out of the water, and skim off any congealed fat. Remove the onions and garlic so that you have clear broth. This will be your soup base. Remove all of the meat from the chicken pieces, tear or chop them into pieces and return to the pot. Finely chop the other half of the onion and the 5 garlic cloves, and saute those in a little butter till onions are translucent. Add to pot. Add the Ro-tel, a big handful of fresh, chopped cilantro, and the broth and 1/2 to all of the can of chilies, depending on how spicy you like your soup. To further enhance the chicken flavor, you may want to also add a chicken bouillon cube, or a couple teaspoons of broth powder (I used Orrington Farms and added 2 teaspoons). Bring this to a boil, and simmer for an hour or so. It is even better the next day.

To serve, ladle soup into a deep bowl, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top, add some of the avocado pieces, and some crushed tortilla chips, and a dollop of sour cream. I like to squeeze a lime wedge over top. Enjoy!