No soup for you! (ok just kidding)

Perfect for a chilly evening. Chicken soup with a mexican twist! This is Williams-Sonoma's "Tortilla Soup with Chicken and Avocado" from their Soup cookbook.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup plus 2 tsp fresh chopped cilantro (it's worth it even if you're not a huge fan of cilantro)
1 cup drained canned plum (Roma) tomatoes
1/2 tsp cumin
4 cups of chicken stock or prepared broth
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, about 1/2 lb., cut into bite-sized strips
Salt and pepper
4 corn tortillas, preferably stale and dry
1 dried chile such as ancho, seeded (I couldn't find any in my store, so I used Hot Mexican Chili Powder)
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced (mine rotted, but its fine without it if you can't find any good ones, although it's great with the avocado to be sure)
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used the Mexican 4-cheese blend)
2 tsp fresh lime juice

Prepare:
Do all required chopping. Start the tomatoes draining.

Cook:
In a frying pan over medium heat, warm 1 tbsp of the oil. Add the onion, garlic, and the 2 tsp of cilantro, and saute just until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

In a blender or food processor, combine the sauteed mixture and the tomatoes and process until smooth.

In the same frying pan over medium-high heat, warm another 1 tbsp of the oil. Add the tomato mixture and cumin. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and darkened, 5-6 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a large saucepan over medium-low heat and add the stock. Cover partially and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the chicken strips and simmer until they are just opaque throughout, 2-3 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the soup is cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tortillas in half and slice each half into thin strips. Spread the tortilla strips evenly on a baking sheet along with the chile and bake until crisp and beginning to brown, 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Crumble the chile and set aside.

To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Divide the tortilla strips, crumbled chile (or sprinkle with the hot chili powder, a couple good shakes), 1/4 cup cilantro, avocado, cheese, and lime juice evenly among the bowls and serve immediately.

Muy delicioso!