Friend Soup, or Chicken Tortilla Soup...

Yum...

 Yesterday I made Chicken Tortilla Soup for my Koininia today. I turned out really good, but I almost ran out. So, next time I won't eat as much of it before as I did yesterday. 

 If you have tried the soup before you know I got the recipe from my mom, who got it from her friend Trish, who got it from her friend. The soup has been passed around from friend to friend, so I have appropriately named it Friend Soup. 

 The recipe I have received is for a large batch, but trust me, you will want a large batch because you can freeze it for another time or give it to a friend, (another reason it's a good name) or eat it all week, which I could easily do. Oh, and believe it or not, you can make it in a bigger batch. I have a special pot I call my chicken tortilla pot. But trust me, it is really good, and you'll campair all other chicken tortilla soups to it.

• 3 Quarts of water
  
• 1 Jar chicken base
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (you can use more)
• 10 Cloves finely chopped garlic
• 1 Chopped Bell pepper (you can use any color)
• 8 oz. diced green chillies
• 3 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 bunch chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. White pepper
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. Whole cumin seeds
• Small bag of frozen corn
• 2 Cans of black beans
• 2 Cans of white beans
• 8 Tbsp of vegetable oil ( you can use less, just enough to coat)
• 2 2/3 cups of chopped carrots
  

 Saute onions garlic, and cumin seeds in oil for 7 min. Mix water and chicken base. Add chicken and other ingredients. Bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer until chicken and veggies are tender and flavors are full. Garnish with deep fried corn tortilla strips, cheese, and whatever else you like on chicken tortilla soup.

NOTE: The chicken base is a pasty base near the bouillon cubes in the store. It freezes well in freezer bags. 

Serves 20 6oz. servings.

The soup can be expensive with all the ingredient, but all of it you can find on sale. So if you know what to look for, you can plan ahead and stock up on the ingredient.