Trying a copycat recipe for Max and Erma’s tortilla soup

I love the tortilla soup from Max and Erma’s. Have you ever had it? It’s a spicy, cheesy cup of goodness (and probably calories but let’s ignore that for a moment). I have long desired a great tortilla soup at home, and thanks to Pinterest, I found a Max and Erma’s tortilla soup recipe that was actually really good.

I found this recipe a while back but only recently have I been trying to clean out my recipe board when I relocated it and decided to give it a-go.

Side note: My recipe tab contains mostly desserts. Lots of sweet treats that I want to eat, but highly doubt I could ever actually make.

I decided to make this one day that we had a snow day. Here is what you need to make it:

• 1/4 cup butter OR margarine
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 8 oz. Velveeta process cheese food – cubed
• 10 oz. can Ro*Tel® tomatoes and chilies (I used the store brand and it was great)
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1  1/2 tsp. chili powder
• salt and pepper – to taste
• flour tortillas – as needed, about 4 – 6
• shredded Colby Jack cheese OR Mexican blend cheese – as needed

I baked the chicken in the oven until it was done and juicy and then followed these directions. (Recipe is taken from MommaLuvs2Save.com)

1. For the soup, in a pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.
2. Slowly whisk in small amounts of chicken broth at a time, then whisk in milk.
3. Reduce heat to low and stir in Velveeta cubes; stir until melted.
4. Stir in Ro*Tel, chicken, and spices.
5. Once soup is heated through, it is ready to serve at this point. However, if you wish to make tortilla strips, it can sit over low heat while they are made. Stir the soup occasionally.
6. For tortilla strips, cut tortillas into strips and deep-fry in 350 degree vegetable or peanut oil until golden, then drain on cooling racks.
7. Spoon a ladleful of soup into a bowl, add a handful of shredded cheese, then spoon another ladleful of soup over cheese. Sprinkle tortilla strips over top. Repeat for remaining servings.

My notes: I would use the Ro*Tel again, but I’m not a huge fan of tomatoes and the can contains quite a few. I don’t recall Max and Erma’s version having such chunky tomatoes. Next time, if I could include the peppers without the tomatoes, I totally would.

Also, despite how much I love this soup, and this knock-off was certainly the closest thing I’ve ever tasted at home, having just this for a meal is filling but very rich and heavy. It’s a soup made with milk and cheese. I really need not say anymore. I learned that several bowls of the thick soup combined with greasy tortilla strips just gives me a belly ache.

I would definitely prep this amount and eat small portions of it with dinner and freeze the rest of a lunch or a snack.