Vegetarian Enchilada Soup

I got this recipe from Lexi about a year ago and just gave it a go. I made a few changes to make it vegetarian - Lexi's recipe includes chicken while it's cooking, plus chicken stock instead of the veggie. 

It's easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. Hope you all give this a try. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 large jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, undrained
• 2 cups veggie broth 
• 1 (15-ounce) can yellow corn, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 8 corn tortillas
• canola oil, enough to fill a small skillet 1/2-inch high
• garnish options: sour cream, shredded chihuahua cheese, sliced green onion, avocado, fresh squeezed lime, chopped cilantro, grilled and shredded chicken

DIRECTIONS

1. Sauté onion and jalapeño in a bit of oil until soft and onions are just starting to caramelize 
2. In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, purée the onion, jalapeno, garlic, chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and green chiles. Transfer to a large stock pot.
3. Add veggie broth, corn and black beans to the pot. Heat over medium heat until ingredients are heated through.
4. While soup warms up, prepare tortilla strips. Stack the tortillas and slice into 1/4-inch strips, then slice the larger strips into halves. Heat oil in a small cast-iron skillet to 350 degrees F (or until very hot so when the tip of a wooden spoon is inserted into oil, the oil will bubble around the spoon). Add a handful of tortilla strips and fry until golden and crispy, 1-2 minutes, separating with tongs so they don’t stick together. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate or baking sheet and immediately season with kosher salt.
5. When ready to serve soup, garnish with tortilla strips and anything else you'd like!