THE tortilla soup

Made this for my sisters this evening and as always, it was a hit, so I present to you, Tortilla Soup.

1 med yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 TBS olive oil

Saute in a deep soup pot, when nice and golden add:

1 huge mother sized can of crushed tomatoes
3-4 c. chicken broth
3/4 of a bunch of cilantro, chopped

With an immersion blender, puree the mix being careful not to splash ;). Now add:

1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can corn, rinsed
1 can white hominy, rinsed
1 can green chili's (the fat lil' cans in the mexican section at the grocery store)

Then spice as you like. This is what I like to use:

3-4 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS chili powder
1 TBS garlic powder
salt to taste

Be sure to add the cumin, it takes the edge off the acidic tomato. Now, if you would like to add meat I would suggest thawed, boneless, skinless chicken breast. For this amount I added 2. Make super duper sure that the chkn is completely thawed and just chuck the boobs in, keeping the soup at a gentle boil until the chkn is cooked. Remove chkn and pull apart with forks then add it back into the soup. Do not over simmer the soup. No more then 40-60 mins total. Before serving squeeze the juice of one lime into soup. I like to serve this soup with a dash of cheese, maybe some sour cream, some crunched up tortilla chips, some chopped avocado and a little fresh cilantro on top. This is very yummy and healthy. Try it out and let me know what you think!