I’ve been on a tortilla soup kick lately, but, of course, I remove the tortilla strips to avoid the carbs that come in those delicious little things. And then, Letha Northcutt mentioned to me that this is a soup she makes often, and it dawned on me, that I could do the same thing. The result was that I have discovered that I am a tortilla soup making fool…without the tortillas, of course! 
Because I made this pot of soup strictly for myself, I made no attempt to do anything neatly, including slicing the avocado!
The only problem is that I did not really have a recipe so it may be that my soup will taste a bit differently every time I make it. This first attempt was, however, absolutely delicious.
Ingredients*
Chicken Breasts
Celery
Large Onion
Avocado
Grated Cheese
Black Olives, if desired
Preparation
1. Chop celery into bite-sized pieces. I used an entire stalk, chopping each rib crossways about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Chop onion into small pieces, or leave them as large as you like.
3. Boil boneless chicken breasts (I used 2), chopped celery and onion in a large soup pan with plenty of water.
4. Season all as desired. I used salt, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper for an added bite.
5. Remove chicken when done and allow to cool.
6. When chicken is easy to handle, shred it or cut it into bite-sized pieces and return to soup stock.
7. Simmer until chicken is reheated.
8. Put slices of avocado and a handful of grated cheese (I like the 4-cheese Mexican cheese) in bowls and spoon soup over all. I did not use them this time, but you might want to add some black olives to each bowl.
Delicious!
*Obviously, if you don’t watch carbs, you can add corn, black beans, and tortilla strips to make this recipe even better.
