Yummy soup recipe!

I love this time of year because I can make one of my favorite things to cook: soup! I enjoy experimenting with different combinations of ingredients and the more unusual, the better!

All week I've been looking forward to Friday night as we've been invited to a friend's home for a soup and salad potluck dinner. I was told about a particular Rachael Ray recipe for chipotle-pumpkin-blackbean soup and in searching for it on her site, stumbled across another that looked nearly as tempting: chicken tortilla with chipotle and fire-roasted tomatoes. Since my mom was unsuccessful in finding the original curried-tomato soup recipe that I had copied from her a few years ago, I found another one similar to it and bought ingredients for all three soups.

My husband, Nathan, has been a good sport in my experimentation this week which has stretched the limits of even his palate, but tonight gave 2 enthusiastic thumbs up to tonight's experiment, so I thought I would share. The winner...: chicken tortilla soup with chipotle and fire-roasted tomatoes!

My recommendations and substitutions: definitely include the fresh cilantro! It adds a special freshness. I didn't have a bay leaf so I found online that you can substitute some vinegar for extra punch. I also couldn't find fire roasted tomatoes, so I used diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano and added several drops of liquid smoke to give the 'smokey' flavor she was going for. LOVED IT! Definitely outshines the kind you can order at many chain restaurants!