Tortilla Soup with Chicken and Avocado

Hands down the best soup I've ever made. From the Williams-Sonoma Soup cookbook.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro (Since I hate cilantro, I substituted parsley)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 cups chicken stock
1 skinless, boneless whole chicken breast, cut into bite-sized strips
Salt and pepper
4 corn tortillas
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
1/4 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
2 tsp lime juice

Directions:
In a frying pan over medium heat, warm 1 tbsp of the oil. Add the onion, garlic, and the 2 tsp cilantro and saute just until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

In a blender or food processor, combine the sauteed mixture and the tomatoes and process until smooth.

In the same frying pan over medium-high heat, warm another 1 tbsp oil. Add the tomato mixture and cumin. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and darkened, 5-6 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a large saucepan over medium-low heat and add the stock. Cover partially and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the chicken stripcs and simmer until they are just opaque throughout, 2-3 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

While soup is cooking, cut the tortillas in half and slice each half into thin strips. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Drop a tortilla strip in oil, and if it sizzles immediatey, the oil is ready. Drop handfuls of the tortilla strips into the oil and fry, turning with tongs, until crisp and browned, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Divide the tortilla strips, the avocado, cheese and lime juice evenly among bowls and serve immediately.