Prepare the tortilla soup base:

Cup of Yum
1. Put the tomatoes, onion and garlic in a blender (if you like spicy, throw in a bit of jalapeño, too). Hit BLEND or whatever button will do the business, and puree the heck out of those veggies! It will have a salmon-pink color at first, but will turn red once it starts to cook.
2. Put the olive oil in a pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Next, pour the puree into the hot oil in the pot. Stir, and let simmer for about 3 or 4 minutes. It will turn a bright red color.
3. Next, add the water, bouillon (or stock), and salt- bring to a boil. Let the soup simmer for about five minutes, while you chop the veggies.

Prepare the vegetables:

1. Slice the zucchini into small rounds, half slices or quarters, depending on how big your zucchini are (in diameter). Do the same with the carrots, and dice the potato. The goal is to try to make all the vegetables the same size.
2. Add the veggies to the soup and let simmer until the potato is cooked. Check for salt, and add if needed. If it doesn’t taste incredibly delicious, it needs more salt. That’s it–soup’s ready!

Make the crispy tortilla strips:

1. Cut the flour or corn tortilla into ½" (1.3 cm) strips.
2. Pan fry the strips (I use a pizza cutter to cut them easily and quickly) in a small amount of olive oil, then drain on a paper towel.
3. If using corn tortillas, I suggest using the smaller ones and cut into very thin strips. These are easier to deep fry, but you can do it in a small pot so you won’t need much oil.
4. Place on a paper towel lined plate until needed.

Serve the tortilla soup:

1. Start by putting some cheese in the bottom of each bowl. If using crispy corn tortilla strips, mound them up in the center of the bowl, and don’t be shy. If using flour tortillas, those will be added after adding the soup.
2. Ladle the soup into the bowl. Top the soup with freshly fried flour tortilla strips if that’s what you’re using. Enjoy!