So Good - It Makes Your Eyes Water

I have a lot of shredded chicken on hand (you'll find out why on Sunday) and needed to find a recipe to use it up. It's kind of chilly in my house, so I was in the mood for soup. I decided to make my own rendition of Tortilla Soup. It uses a lot of onion, hence the eyes watering part - but onions are good for you. Here's the recipe:

Tortilla Soup 
The Non-Spicy-Way

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large tortilla (flavor of your choice, I used a sun-dried tomato tortilla), cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 T. olive oil
Salt

1-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 of a very large white onion, peeled and quartered
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 T dried cilantro (use fresh if you have it)
1 medium tomato, cored and quartered
1 T tomato paste
1T vegetable oil

Garnishes (all optional)
lime wedges
avocado
crumbled cheese
fresh cilantro leaves
sour cream

Directions
1| For the tortilla strips, preheat oven to 425*F. Spread the tortilla strips on a rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with the oil and toss until evenly coated. Bake until strips are golden brown and crisped (about 10 minutes). Watch closely to prevent from burning.
2| While tortilla strips are baking, bring the broth, 2 of the onion quarters, 1 of the garlic cloves and a pinch of salt to a boil in a large saucepan.
3| Puree the tomato, remaining onion quarters and remaining garlic in a food processor. Add tomato paste and stir.
4| Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over high heat until shimmering; add the tomato-onion puree and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently until the mixture has darkened in color; about 10 minutes.
5| Strain the chicken broth into the tomato puree mixture, bring to a boil then add chicken. Reduce temperature and simmer until heated through; about 10 minutes.
6| To serve, ladle the soup into bowls - garnish with tortilla strips and any optional garnishes.