Customized Tortilla Soup....

In California for Fall Break, our dear friends the LeSueur's invited us over for dinner. It was cold outside and the dinner could not have been more perfect. She made a delicious Tortilla Soup that warmed the soul and was spot on perfect! Now, I have had lots of tortilla soup before but this was different and soooo delicious! I loved the method of making the base and letting everyone create their own soup. It's really more of a Mexican stew when you are done.

This is great for families with allergies as you can customized the ingredients for each person.

First, you make the base:

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. oil
1 28 oz can pureed tomatoes
4 C. chicken broth
2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp pepper
juice of one lemon
1 tsp. ground cumin

Combine the onion, garlic and cooking oil in a 6 qt. pot and cook over medium high heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and heat for another 15 min. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Soup ingredients:

Have these all in separate bowls for each person to pick from as desired:

chopped chicken
chopped cilantro
onions
shredded cheese
lime slices
avocados
sour cream 
black beans or pintos
chips
diced tomatoes
Salsa (I loved a little spoonful on top of the soup)
rice

Fill your bowl with whatever ingredients you desire. Then, put a ladle full of soup base over the top. I liked the soup wet but not swimming in the base. More of a stew.

Whatever soup base you have left over, freeze for another time! It was perfectly delicious and a hit with my kids!

Thanks, Ashlee!