Chicken Tortilla Soup

From: My good friend, Melissa.

Ingredients:

As it happens with all good recipes, they get tweaked as they are passed around.  Here are the ingredients Melissa uses.  And here are the ones that I use:

to be cooked together first: 

1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb of chicken diced

then add: 

1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth (15 oz)
1 1/4 cups water
1 can corn, drained
2 cans of garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup of diced flame roasted green chile OR jalapeños

toppings:

1/4 cup fresh finely chopped cilantro
crushed tortilla chips
diced avocado
shredded cheese

How to:  Well, here you can read Melissa's excellent post on how she does it, complete with all the way cool pictures.

What I do:  I put the 1st three ingredients in the bottom of a large pot and sear until the chicken is cooked through.  Then I throw in the rest of the ingredients (not including the toppings) and simmer until it's hot and all the flavor has mixed together nicely or until we're ready to eat, whichever takes longer.  Last I serve the toppings at the table for all to use as desired.