The Cottage's Mexican Chicken & Rice Soup

There are dozens of "Mexican-style" Chicken Soup recipes out there; I've tried lots of them ~ this one is very good and simple to put together. I've made it two times, once following the recipe exactly; the next time I omitted the Mexican Rice mix.

I usually avoid boxed "mixes" in my cooking; this one calls for a boxed rice mix; you can omit-- use regular rice and seasonings such as bell pepper, additional onions and chili powder , cumin, oregano and salt to achieve a similar taste, entirely from scratch if you prefer.

It doesn't displace my own version on Mexican-Style soup but it's very good and goes together quickly. I'll post my version in an upcoming post.

The recipe comes from "The Cottage", a very popular beachside bungalow restaurant, in La Jolla, CA.

The Cottage's Signature soup ~

Mexican Chicken and Rice

4 servings

4 corn tortillas

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chopped yellow onions

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped s (or to taste)

1 1/2 cups chopped Roma tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

6 cups chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 (6 ounce) box Uncle Ben's Mexican Fiesta Rice*

1 cup chopped cooked white meat chicken

1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese

*Note if Uncle Ben's is unavailable, use any Mexican rice mix from a box, you can use Spanish in a pinch. Or do what I do; season regular rice with your favorite Mexican seasonings. (See my notes, above.)

Cut the tortillas into 1/4-inch strips and prepare to fry them; heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Fry the tortilla strips until crunchy. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a soup pot, saute the onion, jalapeño, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic in the butter until the tomatoes are soft. Add chicken broth and bay leaf; bring to a boil, add rice and seasonings. Boil until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat; add chicken and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. If rice absorbs too much of the liquid add more chicken broth. Ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla strips and cheese before serving.

I like to top with additional chopped cilantro.

There are several other very good recipes in this book, I'll be cooking & posting more about them in the future.