HOT treat on a COLD day

There's nothing like a little snow to make me in the mood for soup.  Since I was recently in Texas, Tortilla Soup was on my mind, so that's what we had for a cozy dinner. My in-laws were over (I guess they were allowed to break the "no guests for the month of January" rule) and so I toned-down the spicy factor in the soup. That's a great thing about this recipe-- you can make it mild if you have young kids or sensitive taste buds (or both). You can also add shredded cooked chicken if you want a heartier soup. We had ours as an appetizer with tacos to follow, but you could definitely make this soup your meal. The fried tortilla strips and grated cheese that you sprinkle on top make this soup lots of fun and lots of DELICIOUS!

 Tortilla Soup
serves 8-10

3/4 c. onion, chopped
1  4 oz can chopped green chiles (leave out to make a milder soup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T oil
2 c. beef broth
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3 c. water
1 1/2 c. tomato juice
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 t. chili powder (optional)
1 t. cumin
2 t. Worcestershire sauce

6 tortillas, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
1/4 c. oil
shredded Cheddar cheese

Saute onion, chiles and garlic in  2 T oil until soft. In soup pot, stir together beef broth, chicken bouillon cubes, water, tomato juice, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and Worcestershire sauce. Add softened onion, garlic and chiles. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, and simmer, covered for an hour. (For a smooth soup, pour soup through a sieve to remove chunks of onion, garlic and chiles.)

While soup is simmering, pour 1/4 c. oil into frying pan and fry tortilla strips in several batches until golden and crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain and cool.

After serving soup, top with tortilla strips and grated cheese.

Enjoy!