Rio Grande Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 1  avocado diced peeled seeded
• 4  beef-flavored bouillon cubes 
• 1 cup meat from a rotisserie chicken diced cooked
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• 10  corn tortillas divided
• 2  chicken-flavored bouillon cubes 
• 3 servings cilantro leaves fresh chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1  jalapeno seeded finely chopped
• 8 ounces monterrey jack cheese shredded
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced quartered
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 0.5 cup tomato sauce 
• 2  tomatoes peeled chopped
• 0.5 cup vegetable oil divided
• 1.5 quarts water 
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• paper towels
• ladle
• sieve
• wooden spoon
• dutch oven

Directions

1. Combine water, bouillon cubes, and 3 tortillas in a small Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally to break up tortillas.
2. Strain broth through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing tortillas through sieve using back of a wooden spoon.
3. Add water to tortilla- broth mixture to equal 6 cups; set aside.
4. Add onion, garlic, jalapeo pepper, and 2 tablespoons oil to Dutch oven; saut 3 minutes. Stir in reserved tortilla-broth mixture, tomato sauce, salt, cumin, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 hour.
5. Add chicken and tomatoes to broth; simmer 10 minutes.
6. Cut remaining tortillas into 2- x 1/2-inch strips. Fry strips in remaining oil in a heavy skillet until crisp; drain well on paper towels.
7. Place several crisp tortilla strips in the bottom of each individual bowl; top with 2 tablespoons grated cheese and 1 tablespoon avocado. Ladle soup into each bowl; sprinkle with additional tortilla pieces and cheese.
8. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
9. Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce, if desired.