I had “Tortill a Flat”  by John Steinbeck on the brain; corn tortillas, and chicken thighs in my freezer; and put two and twenty-seven together, looked into a trusty cookbook, and decided to attempt “Tortilla Soup” , which is not always my favorite menu item.

Once again, I lacked all of the ingredients (apparently my kitchen is not as well-stocked as it should be), so put on my shoes, hobbled my way to the store, and bought some mozzarella (the good kind) and some veggies. On the way, I passed the neighborhood residential crazy with the signs warning against demons on the phones, three bars, and a modeling agency which is always empty.

When I got back home, I started the prep work for the Tortilla Soup. Within thirteen seconds of my arrival, the kitchen was an absolute disaster- I had three cutting boards out, four knives, and both the oven and the stove on. Because I was wearing my brightly-colored apron, I felt confident that I could ward off anything bad that might happen as I cooked- for the most part, I was right.

I sliced the tortillas into strips and used a spoon to spread Canola oil over them; then, I baked the Canola-covered tortilla strips in the oven for about twenty minutes. While the tortilla strips were baking, I boiled and simmered the chicken, chicken broth, water, and jalapeno pepper together in a large pot (or what I have recently learned is also called a dutch oven). While the ingredients in the pot were simmering, I cut up green peppers and attempted to grate the mozzarella- it was too soft, so it didn’t work out quite right- and then I waited for the chicken to cook through completely. This step took much longer than the recipe called for- maybe my chickens just happened to have thicker thighs- whatever the case, I had to check and re-check to insure that the chicken was cooked thoroughly enough so I could shred it with a fork without scaring myself with red chicken veins.

I put the soup into bowls and put the cheese, the peppers, the tortillas, and some lemon into the bowl as fresh ingredients or what the foodies and most of the population (who are much more in the know that I am) refer to as garnish. (I had always believed that garnishes were not really that tasty, but in this case, they added quite a lot to the mix.)

As always, I am sure you are curious about the verdict on this one- it was pretty good. I think that my Tortilla Soup could have benefited from more than one jalapeno or even a spicier pepper, but other than that, I was a little impressed with myself, which doesn’t happen all that often in the kitchen.