Peace, Happiness, and Tortilla Soup

Let me introduce you to the best experience your taste buds will ever have. Ever.
Mom's Chicken Torilla Soup. After living in Mexico for nine years, our family collected some amazingly yummy and authentic recipes, but nothing tops this chicken tortilla soup. I have never had a better tortilla soup before or since. It is a favorite among my mom's side of the family. It was a hit during my college years when my roommates and I would throw tortilla soup parties, sometimes feeding upwards of 40 people. In fact, my old roommate and best friend, Kristy, asked me for the recipe awhile ago and I'm such a putz that I forgot to give it to her. Then I forgot that I had forgotten. And now I remembered and figured that I'll just share the recipe with everyone! It takes a little bit of time to prepare--the secret is really in the chile ancho stock--but you won't ever regret spending the time to make it. And it's easy to make; trust me, because let's face it: I am not exactly a proficient chef or anything. So without further ado, I give you Tortilla Soup!

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
2-3 large carrots (scrubbed) cut into large chunks
2 large ribs celery also cut into big chunks
1 large onion peeled and cut into 1/4ths
1 large onion diced
5 cloves peeled garlic
4-5 dried chile anchos (found in the Mexican food aisle)
1 large tomato, peeled and diced

Toppings:
shredded lettuce
shredded jack cheese
fried corn tortilla strips (home-fried strips are the best)
chopped onions
diced avocado
chopped tomatoes
green salsa
fresh key lime juice
sour cream (the American addition)

To make the broth:
1. Make a rich chicken stock by boiling a whole chicken with the carrot chunks, celery chunks, onion (cut into 1/4ths), and garlic cloves in a large pot of water. When the chicken is cooked to the point of falling off the bone (a few hours), take the chicken out of the stock and de-bone. Strain the stock and add the chicken back in. For additional flavor, add chicken soup base to taste.

2. In a separate pot, cover the chile anchos with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat, and let sit for 1 hour. Take the chiles off the stem and open up to remove the seeds and veins.

3. In a separate pan, saute the diced tomato and onion until the onion is transparent. Put in a blender with the chile anchos and puree. Add this mixture to the soup stock with chicken to complete the soup!

Serve in bowls over the "toppings" listed above and Ta-da! Merry Christmas to you, your taste buds, and your stomach. :)