Spicy Tortilla Soup

This recipe comes from Southern Living Ultimate Quick & Easy Recipes Cookbook.

I actually kinda stole this book from my mom (shh!!). Seriously, the woman has like 54583045 cookbooks and still makes the same old stuff found in my grandma's recipe box. Trust me, she's not missing this one. I actually told her a few times I had it, and she's yet to ask for it back.

Anyways...

I made this once for my hubby* when we were first married. He'd gotten a cold, and since he loved spicy stuff (and I was trying to show him I could be a good little housewife and make him soup). Unfortunately, I didn't think about the fact that he couldn't really taste anything. So what should've been a big hit? Um... yeah, I felt like a big, fat failure. I was mad at the recipe. It let me down.

Fast forward a couple of years...

I decided to give it another go, while he was perfectly healthy.

This time? He really enjoyed it.

*I know I refer to my husband all the time when I cook, but honestly, he's really my only taste tester most of the time. My biggest critic? The toddler. If he likes it, then you know it's worth trying. hehe.

Fyi, those peanut butter chunk cookies? I've had to make 3 more batches since I posted that recipe a couple weeks ago. If you haven't tried them yet, you should. :)

Spicy Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used EVOO instead)
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 (16 oz) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (11 ounce) can sweet whole kernel corn, undrained
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Tortilla chips
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese

Directions
Saute onion and garlic in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until onion is tender. Add zucchini and next 6 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
Spoon soup into individual bowls. Top with tortilla chips and shredded cheese (don't let those chips sit too long or they'll get soggy).
Yield: 2 1/4 quarts.