Turkey Tortilla Soup

I've got lots of turkey around here right now. Here's a soup recipe I concocted tonight when I realized I'd forgotten to take any meat out to thaw for my originally planned dinner.

Turkey Tortilla Soup

1/4 c red onion, diced
1/4 c chopped bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
olive oil for cooking the above veggies - maybe a Tbsp or so.
1 1/2 quarts turkey broth, skimmed and brought to room temp.
1 1/2 cups cooked turkey, diced
2 cups cooked black beans in 1/2 cup liquid (assuming you cooked dried black beans. Or, use 1 can of black beans.)
2 cups diced tomatoes with liquid
1 cup frozen corn
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
sea salt and pepper to taste
8 corn tortillas, cut into strips
grated cheese for garnish

Start to finish, assuming you have this stuff in the fridge and ready to go, is only about 15 minutes.

Saute the onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil til soft. Add the remaining ingredients, except the tortillas and cheese. Stir well, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Put the tortilla strips into four bowls. Ladle the hot soup on top of the tortillas, garnish with cheese and serve.

Makes 4 servings, plus leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. :o)

Notes about making this from scratch:
The turkey was one I smoked recently, then deboned and saved the meat in meal-sized portions. The carcass was simmered and produced 1 1/2 gallons of broth, currently chilling in the fridge. Diced tomatoes, peppers and onions would ideally come from the freezer, having been grown in the garden last summer. Sadly, I had to use store-bought since my pantry stores are depleted already. Except for peppers - always plenty of diced peppers. The corn was purchased fresh from a local grower, then cut off the cob and frozen to last the winter. If you're cooler than me, you'll have homemade corn tortillas on hand. I don't - haven't gotten there yet, but hopefully soon.

Bon Apetit!