Tortilla Soup

There are tons of recipes for tortilla soup. We've tried lots of them in search of the perfect one. I'm a bit picky about the tortilla soup. For example, if it doesn't actually have tortillas IN it (and you only add them as a garnish), it's NOT tortilla soup. Good tortilla soup also always has little droplets of orange colored oil across the top. Not sure why, but it's always there. So, after trying many many recipes, my family finally decided that The Mansion at Turtle Creek's recipe is our favorite. (I mean, come on...Dean Fearing? Of course it's our fave!) We've been making this same recipe for several years now and it ALWAYS awesome. It also happens to be my oldest chic's all time favorite soup.

My other favorite tortilla soup is from Central Market's cafe. It's more of a broth/veggie tortilla soup. I was lucky enough to go to opening night when they opened a Central Market close to our house (the fourth greatest day of my life next to marriage and the birth of my children!). One of the grand opening tchotchkes was the Central Market cookbook and in this cookbook is a recipe for tortilla soup. So, yesterday I decided to veer from the Mansion's recipe and try the Central Market version. Let me tell you...the recipe in the book is NOT the same as the soup in the cafe. I ended up with a huge pot full of cumin flavored chicken stock. Not only did I waste two red bell peppers, a pound of chicken, two poblano chilies, four tomatoes, etc...etc...but I also wasted two quarts of homemade chicken stock! Grrrrr! I should have turned back when I realized there were no tortillas IN the soup! I guess that'll teach me to vary from our tried and true recipe!

Anyway, the oldest chic was really disappointed that the soup didn't turn out and we had to eat something else for dinner. I figured the only way I could make it up to her was to make a batch of the "good" tortilla soup for dinner tonight and of course she wanted to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Blackberries, Tortilla chips, Cilantro, Shredded cheese, Lime wedge, Tortilla soup, Red bell pepper strips, Cucumber slices, Carrot sticks

It's supposed to be super cold tomorrow, so this should be a great lunch to warm her up. Oh! And we've added sushi to our "most awesome lunch ever" list. She had no problems eating it in the dining hall and said that no one even commented on it. She ate all the rolls in her lunch then came home and ate all the rolls that were left in the fridge. That's my girl!