OTB Chicken Tortilla Soup

HELLO everyone! Greetings. I feel like it's been so long since we've talked. What's going on in your lives? Are your small children grown now? Are you newlyweds five years into marriage yet?

OK, sorry. Just really been missing you guys. Maybe this is a little over the top, but I just hope absence really makes the heart grow fonder! Moving on...

I don't eat out a lot, but I love me some mexican food. And I have my favorites...like On the Border's Chicken Tortilla soup. When I started this food challenge in October (which this is the last recipe of...summary to come later!), I wanted to re-create this soup at home. And just to let you know...it was so yummy that I don't think I need OTB anymore.

What you need:

• 1/2 cup salsa (I just used a can of rotel)
• 2 large ripe olives, mashed with 3 T. salsa (I minced half a can of black olives instead, no salsa since I was using entire can of rotel)
• 3 (14.5 oz) cans of chicken broth
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (around 1 lb.)
• 4 T. uncooked rice (I used brown minute rice)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro (I used way, way more...see instructions below)
• 1/2 cup shredded monterrey jack cheese
• avocado, cubed
• The recipe doesn't call for it, but I would add some corn too!

This is going to be really hard...are you ready?

1. Heat chicken broth to boiling, add (unfrozen) chicken.
2. Boil for a few minutes to cook the chicken until it is opaque. Shred said chicken. Add back to broth.
3. Add salsa (rotel) and rice.
4. Cook 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
5. Add chopped onion and simmer for 5 more minutes
6. Spoon into bowls and add the following...

Avocado: muy importante. (That means really important for those of you who don't speak Spanish.)

Cilantro: MUY importante a mi. (Read: VERY important to me.) Seriously. I must have some kind of complex with my herbs. (Does anyone remember the case of the basil pesto?)

Urm...I love cilantro. I love it so much that I can hear schoolchildren exclaiming, "well why don't ya just MARRY it??" Because I can't. That's not how this works.

But I would. Oh would I.

Anyway, my point is that you should add this to your soup. Add it during the last five minutes with the onion. Add it to your bowl before spooning in the soup. Add it as a garnish. Add it to your oatmeal. Wait, that would be gross. Just checking to see if you're paying attention...

Enjoy!