Terrific Tortilla Soup

Ok, to cook the chicken and make your broth, boil the chicken in a medium stock pot with garlic, celery stalks (and any leaves you can pull off the bunch too), and the quartered onion for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your bird. Let the chicken cool and strain the broth into a bowl (you'll want it later). Once the bird is cool enough to handle, remove all the meat - light and dark - tearing the meat into bite size pieces.

If you don't want to make your own broth (which makes preparation faster), you can just buy a couple of cans of chicken broth and a pack of chicken tenders. Just fry or boil the chicken until cooked.

Use the stock pot again (after it's rinsed out) and heat your oil, then, saute the chopped onions and garlic until soft. Dump in your spices at this point and cook for a minute or two. Then, add the crushed tomatoes and 4 cups broth. Don't, however, throw away the remaining broth, as you may need more! Bring this to a boil.

Once the soup is boiling, add in the hominy, corn, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Reduce all to a simmer. Then add your green peppers. I like to buy the green peppers that are packaged with carrots in a 10 oz. size can. Also, I don't drain the peppers, but pour the juice into the soup. It does make the soup spicy, but in my opinion that's what you want!

Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, tasting and seasoning with your Cajun/Creole stuff as needed. To serve, pour into a bowl and top with shredded Monterey jack cheese and crushed tortilla chips. I also like to add a tiny dollop of sour cream. Yum!