My younger sister Amy and I are polar opposites in a lot of ways. Nowhere are our fundamental differences more evident than in the kitchen. She prides herself on ignoring recipes, improvising, and just basically sensing what would taste good and then making it happen. I’m more a “recipes for inspiration” girl.

Last week, on our final night in Kansas, Amy and I decided to make dinner for our grandmother, aunt, and uncle. We wanted to make something relatively simple that didn’t require a recipe and wouldn’t leave behind a lot of extra ingredients that might go unused by our hosts.

We decided to go with Tortilla Soup and a salad. The only problem is that my Tortilla Soup recipe (highly modified from the California Pizza Kitchen version) was at home and I couldn’t get my hands on it. My sister was eager to make her “off the top of her head” version, but I was hesitant. I haven’t eaten a lot of her cooking and, like most foodies, I’m developing into something of a control freak in the kitchen. But I took a deep breath and let her try her hand. I was in charge of the salad - my favorite Mexican/taco salad that I will have to blog about later…

Anyway, Amy’s quite excited to have her very own recipe post here on Zen Foodism. Hopefully it will be the first of many! The soup turned out great, just the right amount of heat, perfectly spiced, comforting, and filling. Good job, sis!

The main thing that she wants me to emphasize to you all is that the ingredients are totally flexible. You can thoroughly alter it based on your preferences at the moment as well as what ingredients you have on hand. The most key thing is to add the juice of the rotisserie chicken, she says. So don’t ignore that part!

For the record, my Tortilla Soup could NOT be more different than hers. I’ll share with you later this week. You’ll see clearly how different we are from each other just from these soups!

Amy’s Tortilla Soup
Serves 8-10 people

1 small to medium onion, coarsely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 T corn oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
4-5 limes
2 32-ounce cartons of organic chicken broth
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, save juices and fat (hand-shredded from bone, white and dark meat)
1/2 can diced green chilies
1-2 sliced avocados

Optional:
diced jalapenos for heat
chopped kale
sour cream

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Saute until browned on high heat.
2. Add green onions and then broth.
3. Juice limes with a fork right into the pot. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
4. Use a knife to cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces in the can. Add tomatoes with juice. If you’re adding kale, now’s the time. Add chilies, too.
5. Add chicken with all juices and fat. Let simmer for another 10 minutes or so.
8. When ready to serve, garnish with a handful of crumbled tortilla chips, Cotija cheese, and sliced avocados.