• 8ounces carrots, diced
• 8ounces celery
• 8ounces onions, diced
• ¹⁄₂teaspoon garlic powder or 1garlic clove, diced
• ¹⁄₈teaspoon salt
• ¹⁄₄teaspoon pepper
• 1tablespoon corn oil
• 4(15 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1(15 ounce) can tomatoes, diced (optional)
• 1(10 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes & chilies, diced
• 1(1 1/4-1 1/2 ounce) packet taco seasoning (I use McCormicks)
• 10(8 inch) corn, tortillas (NOT FLOUR, cut into small pieces, about 1-in x1-in)
• 12ounces chicken meat, poached, diced
• 1cup milk or 1 cup sour cream
• 12ounces monterey jack cheeseor 12 ounces Mexican blend cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS

1. Saute carrots, onions, celery in corn oil, garlic, salt and pepper until tender.
2. Add chicken broth and bring to boil.
3. Add tomatoes, Rotel, taco seasoning, and chicken.
4. Cut Tortillas into small pieces and add to broth mixture.
5. Let boil for 45 minutes or until tortillas are thoroughly incorporated into soup stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.
6. Reduce heat and add 8 oz. cheese. Simmer for additional 10 minutes.
7. Add milk and simmer for additional 10 minutes.
8. If thicker soup is desired, add more diced tortillas and let incorporate into soup.
9. Garnish with shredded cheese and broken tortilla chips.
10. Substitutions: 1 cup Masa Harina (Masa Flour) for 1 10 ct. package of corn tortillas.
11. Mix masa with 1 cup cold water, then add masa flour mix into soup. If thicker soup is desired, add more masa/water mix.
12. If you don’t want to use the seasoning packet, substitute 1/2 teaspoons cumin + 1 tsp, chili powder.
13. You can also use grilled chicken fajita meat for poached diced chicken.
14. NOTE: If you use FLOUR tortillas, as some people have, you WILL end up with a “TORTILLA MESS”, this recipe is for CORN tortillas. Don’t go blaming me and giving me a bad review because you used the wrong stuff.