Chicken Enchilada Soup

Here I go again with the Mexican food, but I cannot help it, I love Mexican food!  Maybe it is because the best vacation I had in a years was when I went to Mexico 3 years ago, who knows!  I do wish I could find a tortilla soup recipe that even came close to the the most amazing tortilla soup I had when I was in Mexico with my very good friend Becky!  Believe me, I have tried many a tortilla soup recipes in an attempt to find one that was even close to the soup, but I have yet to find one.  Becky, I think you will just have to take me back to Mexico so I can have some more tortilla soup!  Now this is not tortilla soup, but it is pretty damn good!  I did however make a mistake while making it and used corn starch instead of cornmeal, so the soup is not as thick as it should have been.  That is what happens when you rush in the kitchen lol.  I also cheated for the sake of time and I did not make the tortilla chips from scratch; I used store bought ones, but I still included them in the recipe.  This recipe was adapted from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine with 1 cup equaling 266 calories.  You will need the following:
     2 corn tortillas (6 inch)
     1/2 tsp of canola or olive oil
     1/2 tsp of chili powder
     1/8 tsp of salt
     1/8 tsp of cayenne powder
     Soup:
     1 medium onion, chopped
     1 tbsp of canola or olive oil
     1 garlic clove, minced
     5 cups of water, divided
     2 tbsp of reduced sodium chicken base
     1 tsp of chili powder
     1 tsp of cumin
     1 tsp of cayenne pepper
     1/3 cup of masa harina (if you do not have this or cannot find it in the store, you can use cornmeal)
     8 ounces of reduced-fat process cheese (Velveeta) cubed
     2 cups of cubed cooked chicken
     3/4 cup of pico de gallo
     6 tbsp of shredded Mexican cheese or the cheese of your choice

Cut each tortilla into thin 1 inch strips.  Place strips and oil in a resealable plastic bag; shake to coat.  Combine the chili powder, salt, and cayenne.  Add to the bag; shake and coat.  Arrange tortilla strips on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 400 for 6-8 minutes or until crisp, stirring once.  Remove to paper towels to cool; set aside.



    

     Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, saute the onion until tender.  Add the garlic;

cook 1 minute longer.  Stir in 4 cups of water, chicken base, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. 

Whisk the masa harina and remaining water until smooth, stir into the pan. 

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until it is slightly thickened. 

Reduce the heat.  Stir in process cheese until melted.  Add the chicken and heat through. 

Garnish with pico de gallo, cheese, and tortilla strips.