Mom's Tortilla Soup

by Janet
(Idaho)

My son-in-law, Magic, loves this so-easy soup. Extra good when each serving is topped with *crushed tortilla chips and **grated cheddar cheese!!

I changed it to better accommodate food storage use. Just so you know: enchilada sauce in a smallish can at the store, can be over a dollar....and it is mostly just water and chili powder with maybe some onion and garlic powder, a bit of other seasons, sometimes with a little tomato sauce or dried tomato flakes....that's some very expensive flavored water!

1/3 to 1/2 c. dried chopped onions
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 to 2 T. chili powder
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 pint home bottled, or 1 can chicken broth
1 can (4.5 oz.) diced green chilis, do not drain

1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, do not drain
NOTE: this is about 1/2 cup dry pinto beans,
cooked, plus the cooking liquids....as a can
of beans has about 1 and 1/2 c. cooked beans
and 1/2 c. cooking liquid)

about 1 c. cooked cracked wheat

up to 2 c. water, but start with 1 cup first (use some of this water to rinse out cans so you get every penny's worth of your spent money)

1 can (small or large) chicken chunks, do not drain

In a pot: dried onions, garlic salt, chili powder, tomato sauce, chicken broth, diced green chilis. Stir and turn heat to medium high. Add cooked pinto beans + cooking liquids, cooked cracked wheat, and 1 c. of water. Bring to boiling, turn heat to low, cover and cook about 20 minutes, or until flavors meld nicely. As it cooks, add up to 1 cup more water according to your personal preference. When done, take off heat, now add undrained chicken; stir well. Serve and enjoy.

*crushed tortilla chips: crush end-of-bag tortilla chips, place them in a freezer zip-loc. Will store in the fridge for 3 to 4 months; or freeze them.
**put grated cheddar cheese in a freezer zip-loc bag that is labeled with contents and date; freeze up to 6 months (make sure to push all the air out when sealing the bag). Just pull out one of these bags when you need it for this soup.

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