Chicken Tortilla Soup with Lime

I got this recipe out of Rachael Ray 365: No repeats. I'm usually not a big fan of Rachael's cooking, it usually taste kind of bland to me, but what do you expect for making dinner in 30 minutes? I once ate at this delicious Mexican restaurant and had the chicken tortilla soup, it's one of my favorites so when I came across this recipe I decided to give it a try. It was surprisingly good and had a lot of flavor. I almost messed up the recipe but after a reminder from my husband that I dont know to follow it word for word, I was able to quickly save it and make it yummy.

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 cups yellow corn tortilla chips
- 2 tsp hot sauce
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1/2 c sour cream
- 1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 4 scallions, white & green parts thinly sliced
- salt & pepper
- zest & juice from 2 limes

::Directions::

- Preheat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat and add the extra virgin olive oil.

- Chop the chicken tenders into bite size pieces and season with salt & pepper, then add to the soup pot.

- Lightly brown the chicken, 3 to 4 minutes, then add the garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno, onions, celery, cumin, coriander, salt & pepper. Continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

- While that is cooking, place the tortilla chips into a food processor and process until well ground. If you dont have a food processor place the chips into a sealable storage bag and crush with rolling pin. Add the ground tortilla chips to the soup pot and stir to combine.

- Add the chicken stock and bring the soup to a simmer *. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes.

- Ladle the soup into bowls & garnish with the sour cream. Pass the lime zest, chopped cilantro, and scallions in shallow bowls for each person to add to taste. **

* In case you noticed, the recipe never says what to do with the hot sauce, silly Rachael! This is when I would add it (I actually didnt noticed until after I cooked and ate dinner that I forgot to add it).
** I added half a lime juice to the soup, along with a handful of cilantro and scallions half way into the simmering process.