Tortilla Soup

This recipe is one of our favorites at the house! It's so good on a cold, blustery day!!

• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound chicken tenders
• 1 bay leaf, fresh if available
• 1 tablespoon olive oil in the pan
  
• 4 slices thick, smoky center cut bacon, chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 chipotles in adobo, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons sauce
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I like the kind that is called "mexican style" with jalapenos or chipotle peppers in it)
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• 4 cups lightly crushed corn tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar, 3/4 pound
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• lawrys season salt
  

Bring the chicken stock to a boil, add the bay leaf and place the chicken in it while you make the rest of the soup in a sauce pan. I let it sit in the boiling broth the entire time. Then put the olive oil in the other sauce pan and the bacon. Cook the bacon and then add the garlic. After the bacon is crisp, add the tomatoes, onions and chipotle peppers. Shred the chicken and cover it with some of the adobe sauce, lawrys and pepper and place it back in the chicken broth. Throw all the ingredients from the sauce pan with the chicken.