Tasty Tuesday & A Free Read!

Hi, gang! I puttered around in the kitchen over the weekend and came up with a fun - and tasty - new recipe. So, of course, I'm sharing with you guys..because it's what I do! One of my favorite restaurant soups is the Chicken Tortilla at Max & Erma's - it's cheesy, it's spicy and it's chicken-y. All my favorite things. Here goes:

Kristina's Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups of Chicken, shredded or cubed and cooked (we grilled ours, you could bake)
12 oz Velveeta, cubed
1/2 cup colby jack or Mexican cheese blend, shredded
3 cups chicken broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes and chiles, drained (we use mild, if you really like spice try the medium or hot variety)
1/2 cup flour
4 TBS butter or margarine
2 large tortillas, cut into strips and cooked to a golden brown

Directions:

Melt the butter in a pan, gradually add in the flour, whisking until it's blended. Add in the chick broth, continuing to whisk. Once blended, add in the Velveeta and stir gently until melted. Add in the Rotel tomatoes and chicken. Continue to stir occassionally for 20 minutes or so.

Tortilla time! Using a pizza cutter, cut the tortillas into strips of about 1/2" wide and 2" long. Using either oil in a fry pan or a deep fryer, cook the tortillas until crisp and a golden brown. Remove from oil before they turn dark brown. Tip: The tortillas should begin sizzling as soon as they're added to the oil.

Creating a bowl: Put a 1/2 ladle of soup into a bowl, sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese over and add another 1/2 ladle. Add a handful of tortilla strips and sprinkle a little more shredded cheese over that. Serve Hot!

Kristina's Note: I like the tortilla strips to get all soak-y with the soup, so I put the tortilla strips in between the two ladles of soup. My DH likes his strips crunchy so he puts the strips on top. Your choice.

PS: I'm hanging out with the fabulous Jennifer LaBelle today, talking about stuck plots...and giving away a prize to one lucky commenter...so stop by!