Tortilla Soup

Here's a hearty soup that's not too spicy, but it's plenty flavorful. If you need more kick, a tablespoon of hot sauce in your bowl will heat things up nicely.

Tortilla Soup

makes a huge pot of soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (totally optional -- can omit for vegetarian, or use shredded chicken instead)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion (cut in half -- dice one-half and put the other half in your blender bowl)
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic (half goes in your blender bowl)
• 1 cup fresh cilantro (shove a bunch in the measuring cup until it's full, then dump it in your blender bowl, saving a tiny bit for garnish)
• 2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 green bell pepper (cut in half -- dice one-half and put the other half in your blender bowl)
• 8 cups broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
• 2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 corn tortillas, cut into rough 1" cubes
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 Tbsp cumin
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 cups frozen sweet corn
• salt to taste (I felt like it needed quite a bit and ended up using 1 full tablespoon -- perfect -- but I used sodium-free bouillon to make the broth)
• tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, and sour cream for serving

How it's Done:

1. Start out by blending the ingredients you were to put in your blender bowl and set this mixture aside. It will thicken the soup a little bit later.
2. Brown your ground beef in a large stock pot if you're using it. Add the diced onion and the other half of your garlic and cook a couple minutes.
3. Add the cut tortillas, bell pepper, cumin, and chili powder. Mix well.
4. Immediately add the broth and blender ingredients to your pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes to an hour. The longer you simmer, the more the flavors will meld.
5. In the last five minutes of cooking, add the beans, corn, and lime juice.
6. Serve over tortilla chips and cheese, with more on top for garnish. A dollop of sour cream is nice, too.