Chicken Tortilla Soup

"Chicken Tortilla Soup" and its close (albeit weakling) cousin "wimpy-no-spicy" soup have becomes staples of our house. We made it again this week as the weather has once again turned cold in the mountains. The key ingredient that pushes this soup from tasty to down right scrump-"give me another serving"-tious is what we call the "crunchies".

Now to the crunch. As is implied in the name this is a soup with chicken and tortilla. There really is no replacement for a tortilla lovingly crafted by the artisan hands of a sweet Mexican lady over a mesquite charcoal flame in a stick and mud hut that was built a hundred years ago, but they don't have those in Montana so we use flower tortillas bought from Albertsons. No wait come back! I know that is an insulting substitute, I'm not finished though. We take the store bought "Tortilla Wraps" and cut them into slices and bake them on our handy baking stone. To bring them to the level of the aforementioned scrumptious (not the village made ambrosia, but the "give me another serving" kind) you must use the tomato basil flavored wraps.

For the soup itself it is best to use leftover grilled chicken, lightly blackened and marinated in a mesquite, lime, or something of that sort sauce. Tear the chicken into pieces and add to the soup. Oh yeah, the soup is chicken stock with cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, Santa Barbara brand Green Salsa (it's amazing), Ma Se Ca tortilla mix (we noticed that Wolfgang Puck adds this to his CTS), diced green chilies, Jalapeños if you got 'em, garlic, onion, green pepper, red pepper, and sometimes corn.

Top it off with sour cream and Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese and the crunchies.

P.S. For the "Wimpy-no-spicy" version don't add anything that you would consider spicy (yeah, I know you are left with slightly spiced chicken broth).