Bethany's Crowd Pleasing Tortilla Soup

When I was in California in June, my friend Bethany asked me to make tortilla soup for lunch while she ran out to the store.   I enjoy it when my friends share their favorite recipes so I wrote down her instructions.  

  She asked me if I was going to put it on my blog, and I told her when I posted it, I was going to name this soup after her. What I like about  this soup is it gives you a lot of leeway for adding your own personal touches. 

 And so, of course, when I made it, I made some of my own adjustments that I noted below in blue.  When I made it a few weeks ago, I added  a bit of zucchini that needed to get used up.  This is a great summer soup, and it  tastes great with quesadillas and Belizean coleslaw.

Bethany's Crowd Pleasing Tortilla Soup

1.  Prepare chicken:
(1)  Make your favorite chicken stock.
(2)  Chop up 2 chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.

2  Prepare veggies:
(1)  Dice 1 red onion
(2)  Dice 2-3 stalks of celery 
(3)  Dice 2 large tomatoes (I use a can of diced tomatoes)
(4)  Dice 1/2 of a jalapeño pepper
(5)  Chop up 3 T cilantro
(6)  Mince 3 cloves of garlic (Bethany's recipe is to put these in whole)
(7)  Thaw 1-2 cups of corn

3.   Making the tortilla soup:
(1)  Put 2 quarts of this stock into your soup pot and cook it on medium-high heat.
(2)  Then  add the chicken pieces and let them cook a few minutes.
(3)  Add the chopped vegetables (except the cilantro) to the chicken stock.
(4)  Add seasonings:   2 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 1-2 tsp. salt (to taste), 1 T Costco's Organic No Salt Seasoning. 
(5)  Bring the soup to a boil and then let it simmer  until the vegetables are tender (about an hour)
(6)  Add 2 cups of red beans (Bethany makes these the day before) and the cilantro.
(7)  Taste and make any seasoning adjustments.  
Note: You can use pintos or other beans of your choice.

4.  While the soup is simmering prepare the condiments to put on top of the soup:
(1)  Chop some additional cilantro.
(2)  Slice up 2-3 green onions.
(3)  Grate 1-2 cups of cheese.
(4)  Slice 1 lime into wedges.
(5)  Put tortilla chips into a bowl.
(6)  Put sour cream into a dish.

List of My Favorite Soups, Chili & Stew Recipes: 

Beef 

Grandma's Favorite Beef Stew  (My mother-in-law's delicious recipe!)

Just Like Home Ukrainian Borscht   (A Polish student  said this tasted like his mom's!)

Poultry

This is the Best Gluten Free Minestrone Soup!   (A recipe my son modified)

Mouth Watering Italian  Sausage Soup   (This is  my friend Debbie's recipe)
Mexican Fiesta Chicken Soup   (A recipe I got years ago from a Mexican cookbook)
My Thanksgiving Turkey Soup  (My very own special concoction!)
Gary's Incredible Gluten Free Arkansas Gumbo  (Given to me by a Bible study friend from Arkansas)
Jeannie's French Market Soup  (A friend from when my kids were little)
Southwest Turkey Soup  (From my Syre School cookbook)

Fish
Northwest Salmon Chowder  (From my Heritage School cookbook)
Almost Like Ivar's Clam Chowder (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)

Bean & Legumes
Vi's Best Chili  (A  Bible study friend's great recipe)
Bethany's Crowd Pleasing Tortilla Soup  (One of my daughter's friends special soup)
Country-Style Lentil Soup   (From my Heritage School cookbook)
Kathy's Texas Chili & Chips (From my Come & Dine cookbook)
Spicy Cuban Black Bean Soup (From a store recipe card)

Vegetable

Creamy Pumpkin Soup  (from Food Network)
My Favorite Gluten Free Pumpkin Curry Soup  (Combo from Food & All Recipes)
Downright Delicious Potato & Kale Soup  (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)
A Great Fall Soup - Make it From Scratch Corn Potato Chowder  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

Asian
Chinese Chicken Soups  - Bok choy chicken, chicken & spinach, and chicken & cabbage (Modified from Internet search by our Chinese students)
Make Your Own Gluten Free Chicken Pho!  (Modified from a newspaper article)
Gluten Free Chinese Hot Pot  (Modified by a Chinese student)
Chinese Egg Drop Soup  &  Chinese Egg & Tomato Soup  (Modified  from a student's recipe)

Vegetarian & Gluten Free Tom Yum Soup (A delicious Thai soup) 
Deluxe Miso Soup (Kenchinjiru)   (Adapted from Internet search)
A Thai Mom Teaches Me How to Make Tom Yum Kung  (A student's mom's recipe)
A Vietnamese Cooking Lesson - Lien's Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Soup  (An International student's aunt's recipe)
Cooking Beef Pho for Vietnamese Students  (Modified Recipe)
Asian Curried Chicken Soup  (From my Come & Dine church cookbook)