Southwestern Chicken Con Queso Soup

Ingredients

1/8 c peanut oil
1 small red onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
1/4 c jalapenos, diced
1 tb garlic, minced
2 tb cilantro, chopped
1 tb cumin
1 1/2 ts paprika
2 ts oregano
1 ts coriander
4 c chicken, cooked and diced
3 1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 stick butter
1/3 c flour
2 1/2 c cream
3/4 pound grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

Yield: 2 quarts. Heat peanut oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, tomato and jalapenos and saute until onion is almost translucent and garlic is golden brown. Add precooked chicken and chicken stock. Simmer over low heat 1/2 hour. While chicken simmers, prepare a roux: Melt butter in skillet over low-medium heat. Add flour and stir to blend. Cook, stirring continuously, 3 to 5 minutes or until flour is cooked and is a very light golden color. Add cream to soup and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and whisk in cheese. Slowly stir 1 to 2 cups hot soup into roux. Immediately add back into soup, stirring to blend. Soup will thicken slightly. Remove from heat and serve with tortilla chips.