Whole cooked chicken (leftovers okay)
2 onions
1 head garlic
1 tsp whole pickled jalapenos
1 8-oz. can stewed tomatoes
(you can buy them Mexican-Style, with green onions and garlic; this is ideal)
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp oregano

Never throw away the remains of a roasted whole chicken! The meaty
chicken skeleton makes wonderful chicken soup. If there is still meat
left over on the chicken, pick it off and store separately.
Put on two quarts of water to boil. Add a bit of olive oil, salt, and
about half of the cumin and chili powder. Add in the chicken skeleton and
one onion, chopped into large pieces. Let boil over medium heat for 1-2
hours to get the flavor out of the chicken. Go do something else for
awhile. When you come back, strain out the chicken and onions and save the
stock.
Add one cup water and the can of stewed tomatoes. Chop the garlic and
onion into small pieces and add them. Stir well, add the jalapenos (I used
whole ones so I could spoon them out afterwards — they made this a lot
hotter than I was expecting!), add the rest of the cumin and chili powder
and oregano, and the reserved chicken.
Cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Taste (if desired, remove the
jalapenos now), and add a half-cup of milk. If you want to neutralize
spiciness, add more milk. Stir well, serve with a bit of grated cheese on
top.