Tortilla Soup with Seitan & Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

Hmmmm, what to say about tortilla soup? I love it, that's for sure. The spicy broth, the creamy avocado, the crunchy tortillas...the fact that I can go from thinking I want tortilla soup to eating homemade tortilla soup in about half an hour. This spicy soup seems perfectly suited for cool spring nights like the ones we have been having.

Ingredients:

1 package of chicken-style seitan (drained and dried)

about 1/8 cup flour

1/2 large purple onion (diced)

1 green pepper (diced)

1 seranno pepper (stem removed, minced)

1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (drained)

1 can organic pinto beans (drained)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

2 cubed of Not-Chicken broth

6 cups water

1 avocado (quartered)

1 lime (quartered)

2 corn tortillas

1 large flour tortilla

olive oil

Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in to a large soup pot and set over medium high heat. Toss the seitan in the flour and then place it into the pot. Allow the seitan to brown which should take about 4 minutes. Add the onion & green pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent and then add the seranno, beans, tomatoes, garlic, broth cubes, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cut the tortillas into thin strips and toss with olive oil. Place under a broiler until crispy. You have to watch them because they will easily burn. The soup is now ready when you are. Stack two quarters of avocado in the middle of a bowl, ladle the soup around it, and garnish with a lime and crispy tortilla strips. This is also great with some fresh corn and cilantro if you happen to have some on hand.