Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup

Well it's Saturday which means that once I returned from Gymboree with Connor it was time to try again with the bread. I consulted The Google to find out how to improve my "Oven Spring." While reading, I learned that it is common for newbies to use too much flour. Hmmm...noted. Also, I decided to use bread flour. I wasn't too sure about this move since the recipe calls specifically for all-purpose flour. Four and a half cups of that later (recipe calls for 5-6), I was left with a ball of dough that felt different than my previous attempts, but I attributed this to the bread flour. Based on what I read, I wasn't gonna add any more. After kneading, I let it rise, but it didn't rise much, even after about 3+ hours. The end result was still small and dense. Sigh...I suppose I'll keep trying. Again, it was delicious. We ate most of the first loaf.

Anywho, immediately after the bread was done, it was time to start the Tortilla Soup. The recipe in the book is a little different from the one I posted below. In the web version, you use 3.5 cups broth. In the book you use about 2 cups of broth and the rest water. We used somewhere in the middle. It also tells you to use bone-in chicken breast, but we used boneless. For the tortillas, the recipe in the book tells you to bake corn tortilla strips in the oven while the web version tells you to fry them. I say just use tortilla chips. Also, if I could do it again, I would add the cilantro at the end as a topping, not prior to simmering.

Either way, it turned out pretty good. We actually have a recipe for Chicken Enchilada Soup that is very similar to this. We like that a little more than what we had tonight, but this was a bit faster.

Connor says...I've filled up on the bread you guys just made. I'll play with this soup a little bit, but I'm not all that enthusiastic about it. How about instead you give me some more of that bread? And while you're at it, throw in some of that Monterey Jack you've been using. Cheese!?!? Cheese!?!? You guys will never know if I'm actually done eating because one of you accidentally says the word "bath."

 

Enjoy with wine.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/poultry/mexican-chicken-tortilla-soup/