Chicken Tortilla Soup #48

I am the queen of making soups, especially chicken soups.  I love watching Tyler Florence's show "Tyler's Ultimate", but I don't think I've ever made any of his recipes.  I used to get this chicken tortilla soup at a Mexican restaurant in Knoxville that was mostly broth.  I don't know how it contained so much flavor,  but it was so good.  The flavor was strong but not too strong.  It's hard to explain.  Every time I got a bad cold not only was it soup for my soul, but it also helped unstop me.  Okay, enough about that, my point is I'm trying to find a soup that compares with it.  Now this still has a lot of ingredients, but the picture looks more "brothy" so I decided to try it.

The case:
Ingredients
-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-2 medium white onions, diced
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
-3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped
-1 quart chicken stock, recipe follows
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper
-Canola oil, for pan-frying
-8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
-1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
-2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
-1 cup shredded Jack cheese, optional
-1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
-1 lime, cut in wedges, for serving

Directions
1. Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
2. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1-inch of canola oil in a skillet over medium-high flame. When the oil begins to smoke, add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until they are crisp on all sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined platter and sprinkle with salt while they are still hot.
4. Ladle the hot soup into 4 soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each. Top with the diced avocado and fried tortilla strips (and cheese if using). Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

The ruling:
This soup was DELICIOUS!!!  But I didn't really follow the recipe.  Here is what I did:
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
-  1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 5 cans chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons jalapenos
- 1 onion (next time I'll use half)
- Juice of one lime
- 3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Shredded chicken
Garnish:
- Tortilla chips
- Monterey jack cheese
- Sliced avocado
- Sour cream

Directions:
1.  Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes.
2.  Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3.  During the last 5 minutes add lime juice, cilantro,  salt, cayenne, and cumin.
4.  Ladle the hot soup into 4 soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each.
5.  Top with desired garnishes.