Soup's On - Part II

With the additional accumulation of snow today, it seems appropriate to submit another soup recipe. This one for chicken tortilla soup is much like the chicken tortilla soup at McAllister's Deli if you have one near you. I have had many different recipes of this soup, but I prefer this one and those like it as they are spicy but creamy too. This also makes a good amount of soup so it's great for company. I have made this in the past when I catered lunch in for an office meeting and tripled the recipe and it worked out great. Serve this with a green salad, additional tortilla chips, and a nice light dessert and you have a great meal--lunch or dinner.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
8 oz. Velveeta process cheese food - cubed
10 oz. can Ro*Tel® tomatoes and chilies
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper – to taste
flour tortillas – as needed, about 4 - 6
shredded Colby Jack cheese OR Mexican blend cheese – as needed

• In a pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.
• Slowly whisk in small amounts of chicken broth at a time, then whisk in milk.
• Reduce heat to low and stir in Velveeta cubes; stir until melted.
• Stir in Ro*Tel, chicken, and spices.
• Once soup is heated through, it is ready to serve at this point. However, if you wish to make tortilla strips, it can sit over low heat while they are made. Stir the soup occasionally.
• For tortilla strips, cut tortillas into strips and deep-fry in 350 degree vegetable or peanut oil until golden, then drain on cooling racks.*
• Spoon a ladle full of soup into a bowl, add a handful of shredded cheese, then spoon another ladle full of soup over cheese. Sprinkle tortilla strips over top. Add a dollop of sour cream if desired.

  *I use crumbled tortilla chips instead of tortilla strips. As a substitute for RoTel, you can use 1 1/2 cups of salsa. Spiciness can be easily adjusted by using spicy RoTel or salsa and/or adding cayenne pepper to the soup.

  Click here for a printable version of this recipe.