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1
Put chicken, skin bones and all, into a pot with 2 quarts of lightly salted water, and bring to boil. Important: the skin and bones make the broth taste great. that's where the flavor is. this wont work using skinless, boneless chicken breasts.
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2
Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is starting to loosen from the bones and broth looks. well. like broth. (about 20 minutes).
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3
Carefully, remove chicken from broth making sure to get any little bones that may be on the bottom of the pot. Set chicken aside to let cool.
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4
Add onion, Rotel, cumin, garlic, chili powder, and black pepper to the pot. Add 1/2 tsp crushed pepper for medium heat, less if you like it mild, or more if you like it spicy. I use 1 teaspoons.
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5
Stir, and let simmer until chicken is cool enough to handle.
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6
Tear off chicken meat and place back into pot discarding skin and bones.
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7
Cut off about a 2 inch section from a log of Velveeta cheese, then cut into cubes.
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8
Add cheese, and cilantro to soup and stir over low heat until cheese is melted into the soup. Let simmer stirring often.
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9
Stack corn tortillas and slice into thin shreds with a sharp knife. Cook tortilla shreds in a small amount of hot oil until crisp. Drain on paper towels.
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10
To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream (optional) and the tortilla strips.
