okay so it’s no secret that i am not a great cook…yet… well, me and great and cook should probably never be in the same sentence. and it doesn’t help that scott is a FANTASTIC cook, so whenever we have something we want to try, he is all over it. and it usually turns out amazing.. figures. haha.

none-the-less, lately i have been trying to make more of an effort in the kitchen. i have made it my goal to make dinner for scott on sundays, tuesdays and thursdays. don’t ask why on those days, i really just picked them randomly.

so, last night.. i made tortilla soup!! and it worked! (haha)~ thanks to my mother-in-law, sandy, i have had the recipe sitting in my inbox for months.. i usually just wait until they are visiting or until we go to their house and she makes it (and she really does make the BEST tortilla soup ;)) haha, but i thought i would give it a try! so after what seemed like hours of reading (and re-reading) the recipe while going through carefully step by step (its amazing how many times you can read the same recipe, turn around, and still not remember what it said…do that once, and repeat), i actually did it!

moral of the story, if i can do it. so can you. and it’s probably a pretty easy recipe, haha. it was delicious though, and one of those dinners where you already can’t wait for lunch because you get to have it again! i also added avocado and a little sour cream to ours (oh ya, deviating from the recipe, and i was pretty proud ;)) – hope you enjoy!

Tortilla Soup

• 4 Boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded
  2 (14.5 oz) cans of chicken broth
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
• 1 (10oz) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (i added a bit extra)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (i tripled this, unintentionally, but it was good! ;))
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 flour tortillas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Avocado sliced
• 1 small spoonful of sour cream per serving

1. Combine the chicken broth, green chilies, tomatoes with green chilies, onion, and garlic in a soup pot. Add the cooked shredded chicken. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
2. Add the lime juice, cilantro, cayenne, and cumin. Simmer for 10-15 minutes longer.
3. Cut the tortillas into 1/2 x 2-inch strips. Fry in hot olive oil in skillet until golden brown; drain on paper towels.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with avocado slices, sour cream and the tortilla strips.

(and, since this is such a random post, here is a random photo i just found on my computer that scott snapped of me the other day…  my facial expression probably looked similar to this once i finished up dinner last night and it was actually really good 😉 ~ and scotts facial expression was also probably similar to this when he saw how many dishes i managed to use throughout the process… ;)) happy monday!

😉

meg