Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my mom's favorite recipes.  She gave me a copy of it a couple of years ago, and I saw that it had the name "Emeril" on it.  So I guess it's actually his recipe!  It's a great one, with such a fun combination of flavors.  And it's super quick--it takes longer to chop up the ingredients than it does to cook it!  I apologize for the lack of photo; we were having friends for dinner and I forgot to snap some photos!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
by Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green or red bell pepper, diced
1 T minced garlic
1/2 small jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (about 2 t) OR 1/4 t cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
3 T lime juice
1 t chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish if desired
1 cup chopped tomatoes
crushed tortilla chips
1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
Sour cream (optional)
Cheddar cheese, grated (optional)

Season chicken with salt and pepper and set aside.  Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring 2-3 minutes, or until vegetables are softened.  Add garlic and jalapeno and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add chicken and cook for about 3 minutes. The chicken will brown slightly.  Stir in chicken broth, cumin, coriander, and lime juice.  Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in cilantro and tomatoes and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

To serve, place about 1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips in a serving bowl.  Ladle the hot soup over the chips and garnish with a little cilantro, diced avocado, sour cream, and grated cheese as desired.
Serves 5-6.