Nothing better than Soup! Tortilla Soup.

I have always enjoyed soup because it is so easy to make.
Same basic ingredients to start.
This one is easy to make especially if you top it with avocados, it will look even better.

Saute in a large pot the onions until translucent. Add the celery cook for 5 minutes more over medium heat. Toss in the garlic & tomatoes and salt. When the other items are soft toss in the tomato puree, combine, take the chicken stock and slowly add the Maseca. Add the chicken base or the chicken bouillon cubes.
Be sure and stir so that no dry pieces remain and that it is all incorporated otherwise you will have lumps...Lumps are bad....
Stir.Toss in the Pasilla Chili, and let cook for about 20 minutes, on very low heat. Let simmer, it should thicken up a bit.

Meanwhile..............

In a separate pan, add the vegetable oil and put on medium high heat.
Take the corn tortillas and stack one of top of each other.
With a sharp knife, chop 1/4 inch strips so that you end up with about 30 or 40 thin ribbon strips of tortillas.
Take about half a tortillas' worth and toss into the hot oil, cook until crisp, remove and drain on a paper towel, cook the rest the same way.
To serve...
Put in individual bowls, take and place two avocado slices on top of the soup, take some sour cream or creama about a tablespoon dollop and place on the top of the soup in the bowl, then take about 8 to 10 fried tortilla strips and place on the top. You also could grate some cheese on the top. Enjoy.

Here is a trick to make the soup look like it was made in a very expensive restaurant.
Take a squeeze bottle, the kind that you see in hot dog stands, you know, the yellow one for mustard and a red one for ketchup. They sell them in the kitchen departments. Fill it with the creama or sour cream. They you can use it to make a zig zag decoration on top of the soup, instead of the dollop.
That's why they charge more in a restaurant......


Things you will need:

1/2 cup chopped white onion or leek
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped Roma tomatoes or 1/2 of a 14 oz can of stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups tomato sauce or 1 cup puree with 1 additional cup of stock
3 corn tortillas to cut 1/4 inch strips for frying
1/2 cup Meseca
1 cup sour cream or creama for topping
1 garlic clove smashed and minced
1 Pasilla chili
1 avocado cut into 1/8ths, lengthwise.
1 cup vegetable oil or lard in which to fry the tortilla strips
Shredded cheese like Monterey Jack or Chihuahua (optional for topping)