The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle chili powder, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and continue to cook, stirring, to toast the spices until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, diced green chiles, chicken broth, cilantro and bay leaves and bring to a rapid simmer. Add chicken breasts into the broth and reduce heat to simmer. Cover + cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a sheet pan and set aside to cool+ discard the bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium-low to keep warm. Ladle 3 cups of the soup mixture into a blender + add in the crushed white corn tortilla chips. Let sit for about 2 minutes for the chips to soften then blend until smooth. Pour back into the pot and stir to combine. Using two forks, shred the chicken and add back into the soup. Squeeze in 1 tbsp of lime juice. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish as desired! Top with a sprinkle of monterey jack cheese, some avocado slices, a few tortilla chips, cilantro, and a wedge of lime to finish!