Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Over winter break, I made a chicken tortilla soup in my Dad's slow cooker and was incredibly pleased with the result. Before I made it, I researched recipes in a couple cookbooks and online, but didn't find anything ideal. Not using a recipe gave me some freedom to make my own creation, and it made my success feel way better. After I made it, my mom asked me to write out the recipe for her, so I had a copy of it to play around with. I hadn't tried to make the soup again because I had no pot to cook it in. However, on Friday, Rosie brought over a stockpot big enough to make it in, so nothing was holding me back anymore.

There were a couple of alterations I needed to make to the first version of my recipe. First of all, I wanted to be able to share the soup with my vegetarian friends, so I cut the chicken out of the ingredients list and substituted chicken broth for vegetable broth. Additionally, since I would be working on a stove instead of in a slow cooker, I'd have to strategically add ingredients, instead of just throwing everything in and cooking it for five hours. Here is my revised recipe:

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes, with juices
3 cans vegetable broth
1 small can green chiles, diced
1 can yellow corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
8 corn tortillas
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
Sour cream (optional)
Cilantro leaves, chopped (optional)
Green onions, chopped (optional)
Cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 ºF. Add onion, garlic, and a splash or water to a large pot and cook at low heat until soft. Add tomatoes, corn, beans, chiles, vegetable broth, chili powder, garlic salt, and pepper to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Brush canola oil onto both sides of each tortilla. Cut each tortilla in half and then cut each half into 1/4 inch strips. Place tortilla strips on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and bake for 15 minutes. Pour soup into bowls and garnish with sour cream, cheese(s), cilantro, green onions, and/or tortilla strips. Add additional salt and pepper to taste if desired.



As a warning, I couldn't find my measuring spoons on Friday, so the quantities of chili powder, salt, pepper, and oil might be horribly inaccurate. Follow your heart when you approximate the amounts of these ingredients.

I prefer my first version of this soup because the chicken added a lot that more beans couldn't quite replace. However, I'm very happy with how this recipe translated into a vegetarian version. Katie floored me when she told me the next morning that it was better than any drunk burrito she had ever had.