CEIMB: Tomato-Tortilla Soup

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was Tomato-Tortilla Soup, chosen by Mary over at Popsicles and Sandy Feet. I remember making this soup last winter and loving it, but I never blogged about it. I think it's probably just because I was so bad at blogging back then, and not because this soup wasn't memorable! In fact, it was a very welcome repeat here at my house.

I just adore the simplicity of this meal. Just saute some onions, then add garlic and cumin. Throw in your jalapeno, two cans of diced tomatoes (I used one can of regular and one can of tomatoes with diced green chiles), and a carton of chicken broth, along with some dried oregano. Let it simmer for a brief period, then you're ready to blend it!

This was my favorite part. Since the last time I made this, I've acquired an immersion blender (thanks, K and E!) and I am a bit obsessed with it. It makes such quick work of pureeing a soup, among other things! Best of all, with this soup you're able to make it as chunky or as smooth as you'd like it to be. I opted for almost completely smooth; that's just my personal preference.

To finish off this soup, you remove it from the heat and add some lime juice. Then, you can top if off with some fresh cilantro and sour cream, as well as corn tortilla strips that have been baked until crispy in the oven. I love the corn tortilla strips! I had to make twice as many just to have enough for the soup; we all kept snacking on them before the soup was ready. I added some scallion tops and fresh lime zest to the garnish; I think it just added a little something extra special.

My husband went for his soup with sour cream, and I left mine without it. (That's why at the top of my post you see one bowl of soup all decked out, and then this last picture above is my sour cream-less version.) My hubby also had a grilled cheese alongside his, which he said was fantastic dipped in the soup. My son drank his through a straw, so whichever way you choose to ingest this soup, it's spicy and warming, tangy and tart, and just plain awesome.

Thanks to Mary for choosing this; I'm so glad I was able to revisit this, and give it the proper blog love it deserves! You can check out the full recipe on Food Network's website, here. And don't forget to check the CEIMB blogroll for everybody else's results!