Vegetable Tortilla Soup

Heat 1 cup of broth to boiling. Remove from heat and add dried chiles. Soak for 20 minutes. Reserve liquid, remove stems and chop chiles.

Cut the six corn tortillas into small strips.

In a large stock pot heat oil and saute onion, celery, carrots and garlic until onion is translucent. Add all of the broth (including reserved broth), chopped chiles, beans, tomatoes, cumin and tortilla strips. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add corn and zucchini, simmer another 10 minutes. Check flavor for salt (I added about 1 teaspoon). Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with crispy chips, cheese, sour cream and avocado and a squeeze of lime.

Notes:
I use dried beans that were soaked, then cooked and frozen in zipper bags in 1-cup measures. A 15-ounce can of beans, rinsed and drained, will work fine too.
My original plan was to cut the other half of the bag of tortillas into strips and fry them as a garnish, but then I remembered I had tortilla chips, so why do the extra work? I froze them for enchiladas later.