Smoked Chicken Tortilla Soup Base

[Blues Man]

Here is my recipe for the base for Smoked Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Smoked Chicken Tortilla Soup Base
4 cups diced carrots
4 cups diced yellow onion
4 cups diced celery
4 15-oz cans Swanson’s chicken broth
8 medium crushed garlic cloves
4 packets La Preferred taco seasoning mix
2 10-oz cans Red Gold
2 10-oz cans Red Gold
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin


Chop the onions, celery and carrots and mix together.

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/ll440/the_selling_blues_man/tortilla%20soup/100_0702.jpg?t=1254015286

Sauté the vegetables in small batches with a little vegetable oil until tender.

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/ll440/the_selling_blues_man/tortilla%20soup/100_0706.jpg?t=1254015329

Add the Red Gold tomatoes to the stock pot along with 4 cans of chicken broth.

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/ll440/the_selling_blues_man/tortilla%20soup/100_0712.jpg?t=1254015358
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/ll440/the_selling_blues_man/tortilla%20soup/100_0713.jpg?t=1254015390

Add the crushed garlic and other seasonings and simmer on low for 45 minutes.

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/ll440/the_selling_blues_man/tortilla%20soup/100_0724.jpg?t=1254015431

Let the soup base cool and divide equally into 4 separate freezable containers. Freeze until ready to use.

[chowhound]

Nice. This looks like a good base for a lot of things.

[Blues Man]

The addition of the taco seasoning gives this base a definite Southwestern flair. Without the taco seasoning your right, it could be a starter base for many different soups. So far I have this base and one for seafood gumbo. It sure makes final preparations easy. For the tortilla soup, I can get it ready to eat in 30 minutes.