Meal of the Week: Chicken Tortilla Soup

In honor of Cinco de Mayo I'm posting a dish inspired by our friends south of the border. 

Josh first made this chili/soup for the family this past summer while on vacation. It was extremely HOT (as in: it'll put hair on your chest hot!) but the flavor was spot on. When I made it, it was hot, but pleasantly so... (I left out the jalapeno seeds). I got the recipe from him a few weeks ago because Dave was craving something spicy. Josh IMed me the recipe and I was practically laughing to tears by the end of our conversation. He said things like "allow the flavors to marry", and even threw in a "yum-o"! Apparently my baby brother is a chef (he admitted to watching a lot of Food Network in college)! The only thing I tweaked was adding a can of cream corn and black beans to make it a bit heartier. Oh, and I used 1/2 chicken broth, and 1/2 vegetable broth since that's all I had. (He uses all chicken).

I hope you take advantage of this and make it! You won't be disappointed!
{INGREDIENTS}

*1 rotisserie chicken- stripped and shred all meat off that sucker and put into a bowl. Go ahead and use your hands :-)
*1/2 red onion, 1/2 white onion chopped (i just used one whole white onion)
*2 garlic cloves minced
*3/4 TBS chili powder
*1 jalapeno pepper diced (do NOT include seeds)
*2 tsp cumin
*1 jar (16 oz) tomatillo sauce (aka: salsa verde)
*1/4 red bell pepper chopped
*1/4 green bell pepper choppity chopped
*1 can cream corn undrained
*1 can black beans drained
*fresh cilantro
*1/2 lime
*Can of Mexican beer (I used Corona)
*one quart chicken stock (I used 1/2 chicken, 1/2 vegetable)
*possible toppings: sour cream, Mexican cheese (cheddar/jack), corn chips, green onions, guac...

{COOKING INSTRUCTIONS}

*Heat about 3 TBS olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic, jalapeno for a few minutes till they get a bit soft then throw in your spices (chili powder & cumin). Stir it up and let it simmer s'more.

*Pour the beer and chicken/veggie stock into a pot and bring to a boil. Add the chicken... light meat, dark meat flavor flavor flavor!!!

*Add onions and garlic mixture

*Turn the heat down low and simmer for about 15-30 minutes (Josh feels "the longer the better- it allows the flavors to "marry"... ha!)

*Reach in a bag of corn chips with one hand and whatever you can grab, crunch up and toss into the pot. Do this once more (the more chips you put in the thicker it will become)...

*Throw in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro at this time with 1/2 lime juice and stir in and cook on low for another 10 minutes until it thickens up

*Ladle into bowls and add toppings (cheese is pretty much a MUST!!!!)

*************************EnJOY!!!!!**************************************

Everyone will love you for making this and think you're the best chef ever. I think Dave fell in love with me all over again after eating it. He is a man of few words and yet he raved over it and said a few times, "You just can't get something like this at a restaurant!" :-D