Easy Cafe Rio Tortilla Soup

 Cafe Rio Tortilla Soup

Many of you already know and love Cafe Rio...we were so excited to get one here in Maryland recently!  I loved the bowl of tortilla soup I had there the other day.  It was fun to see how they put it together.  I created this recipe after being inspired by Cafe Rio's chicken tortilla soup.  This soup is made with a clear chicken broth, differing from the tomato based Santa Fe Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Both are great soups, just different!  This soup is pretty fast and I really like using the fresh chopped tomatoes and guacamole in this soup, it adds a lot of fresh flavor.  Having everyone assemble their own bowl of tortilla soup makes for a fun and interactive meal!  

Chicken Marinade:
½ cup honey

¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 rotisserie chicken, meat pulled from bones and shredded, bones and skin reserved

Chicken Stock:

bones and skin from rotisserie chicken

4 quarts water

16 teaspoons chicken bouillon

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 large onion, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

1 bay leaf

fresh ground pepper

Soup:

marinated chicken

3-4 chopped tomatoes

Colby jack cheese, grated

8-16 ounces guacamole

Tortilla strips or chips

fresh cilantro 

lime slices

Marinate chicken and refrigerate until ready to heat and use in soup.  Add bones to large pot.  Add 4 quarts water and remaining broth ingredients. Simmer for 45 minutes.  Have the tomatoes, cheese, guacamole, chips, cilantro and lime slices in separate bowls adjacent to the hot chicken stock.   Heat chicken and add a portion chicken to bottom of individual soup bowls. Top with a spoonful of chopped tomatoes, some shredded Colby jack cheese, then add a spoonful of guacamole.  Fill up the bowl with chicken stock and top with tortilla strips, some sprigs of fresh cilantro and a slice of lime.  Enjoy!