Avocado Soup with Chicken and Lime

Ode to the avocado.  When I was young, I couldn't stand avocados (much like my son now) and my parents were thrilled since that meant more for them!  Now, I can't understand why anyone wouldn't love and appreciate this luscious, and healthy, fruit.  There are so many ways to cut an avocado and some people probably change their way depending on how its going to be served.  For perfect slices, I have found my method.  After cutting the avocado in half and removing the seed, gently run a sharp knife along the outside skin lengthwise, basically cutting the skin in half.  The skin will easily pull off in 2 pieces, as long as the avocado is ripe.  As for removing the seed, I've been told I do it dangerously, but I'll share anyway - it's the "stick the tip of the knife into the seed and twist" method.  I find it works quite well, but I've heard it's an easy way to stab yourself. The fate of this particular avocado was to become Avocado Soup with Chicken and Lime. 

 

This is the amount of peppers the recipe calls for - 4 jalapeno peppers.  Let me tell you, that makes for one spicy soup.  The flavors in this soup are wonderful, but were definitely overpowered by the peppers.  I do like spicy, but this was way too much for me.  I would recommend using only 1 or maybe 2 peppers and also removing the seeds.  The flavor base for this soup starts with sauteing garlic, onions, and the peppers in olive oil until they are lightly browned.  

Next you add chicken, chicken broth, lime juice, and diced tomatoes, simmering until the chicken is cooked.  After adding salt and pepper to your liking, the recipe calls for stirring in the avocado and cilantro.  We ended up having leftovers and I wish I hadn't put the avocado and cilantro in the soup since it didn't hold up so well when reheating the next day.  I definitely recommend to put the avocado and cilantro in the bowls first and then pour the soup over.  Also, since it was so spicy, we ended up adding a dollop of sour cream to our bowls.  The finishing touch is to top it off with crunchy tortilla strips that you've baked in the oven.  Aside from using too many peppers, this soup was divine.  I ended up adding more chicken broth to dilute the soup, and the leftovers were just as wonderful.  If you like Mexican soup, you are sure to love this.  Oh, and in addition to the taste, the colors were the perfect red and green for this time of year.