When I planned my menu for the month, I decided to try Melissa’s Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe. She says that in her area it’s as common as chicken noodle soup. We must not live in the same area, because I’ve never had it before.
Last week I whipped up a batch for the first time, and after I tasted it, I knew I had to tell you all to try it! It was soooooo good. It really wasn’t that difficult to make, either. I was a little bit scared to fry the tortillas, because last time I tried to deep fry something, I almost burned the house down. That’s another story for another day, though. And I do highly recommend using the homemade tortilla strips. They’re much better than the store bought kind.
One thing I didn’t do right in making the soup is use enough spices. Melissa is obviously a more experienced cook than I am, and she didn’t list the exact amounts of spices, so I guessed. The way I made it wasn’t bad, but I think it was a little more bland than chicken tortilla soup should be. That’s OK. Next time I know to add more spices. And after we added the chicken, cheese, tortilla strips, and cilantro to the soup, I didn’t notice the blandness that much. My husband added the avocados also, and he said it was good. I don’t like to mix avocados with anything, so I had mine on the side.
An added benefit of the way this soup is put together is that my kids liked it. Let me explain. My kids are picky. Really picky. And they hate soup. By making the broth and then adding the chicken, cheese, tortilla strips, and everything else separately, my kids had the option of having all of the additions on the side. And that’s what they chose to do. So while my husband and I happily slurped up our soup, the kids had a lovely dinner of chicken, avocados, cheese, and tortilla strips. My son even tried a lime. You should have seen his face!
Chicken Tortilla Soup gets a big thumbs up from me!
To see what I think about other frugal recipes I’ve tried this month, visit my Tumblr Page.
Photo by Melissa of A Penny Closer. Doesn’t the soup look yummy?
November 26th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
My kid loves soup, but he does have an issue with cassaroles where everything is mixed together so I do the same as you and give them to him all separately.
That soup sounds delicious. I think I have had something similar in a restaurant. I think I would need the exact recipe though because I really dont’ make soup from scratch barely ever and my spices would probably be more off than you thought yours was.
Great review! How fun.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
That soup looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
November 28th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Yum! I love chicken tortilla soup but have never made it myself. I loved the last recipe you shared (the panera chicken & broccoli soup. we are even making it again this week). I will have to try this one.