Tortilla Soup - Warm Up - South of the Border Style

After reviewing my last several blog entries, I realized why I can't seem to kick those last few pregnancy pounds - too many sweets! So, finally, here's a recipe for a refreshing dish - one that will warm you up in the winter, but isn't so wintry you couldn't make it in the summer with all the fresh ingredients you throw on top. A friend of mine shared this with me - she's been learning some authentic latin food recipes from a woman named Olga. A shout out to Olga for sharing such a delicious dish and for letting me pass it on!

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken
1 Celery Stalk
2 Cans Garbanzo Beans
1/4-1/2 Cup Oil
12 Corn Tortillas
1 White Onion
Cilantro Bunch
1 Avocado
1 Can Chipotle Chilies (in Adobo Sauce)
Mexican Oregano
3 1/2 tsp. Salt
6 Cloves Garlic

Instructions:

1. Prepare Chicken:
In LARGE pan, bring 12-14 cups water to boil (Depending on how big your pan is). Add 1/4 whole white onion and 6 garlic cloves (Peeled and Smashed)-Leave big so you can remove later. Rinse whole chicken (Must have bones in it-That's how it gets it's flavor) and place in pan. Boil covered for about 40 minutes. Add 2 tsp. salt. Smash Mexican Oregano in hand (for more flavor), and then add to pan. Continue cooking and drain fat with spoon (You can always tell where the fat is, because it won't be boiling in that place and it just looks dirty and not clear). Add 1 1/2 tsp. more salt. Cook chicken for a minimum of 1 1/2 hours total time or until the chicken doesn't come back at you when you poke it with a fork. When the chicken is fully cooked, remove chicken, onions, and garlic. Discard Onions and Garlic. De bone, skin, and shred chicken.

2. Chop Celery and place in pan with chicken broth from the chicken. Add Garbanzo beans-bring to a boil. While they are cooking, prepare corn tortillas by heating oil in pan (cook on "7"). Cut tortillas in short very thin strips. Fry tortillas until crunchy. Cut in small pieces-onion, cilantro and avocado.

3. Assemble in bowls in this order; First broth, then tortilla chips, onion & cilantro, avocado, and last a spoonful of chipotle sauce.