Chicken Tortilla Soup

I learned a very important lesson this afternoon: DO NOT CUT JALAPEÑO PEPPERS WITHOUT HAND PROTECTION.  I realize that the capital letter and bold typing may seem a little extreme, but believe me, the pain says differently.  

This afternoon I made my second round of Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Although I stole a few things from other recipes, the base recipe is Pioneer Woman's (you can find it at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/chicken-tortilla-soup/).  

Pioneer Woman comes highly recommended by Becca and Hannah; although this is the only recipe I've given a shot at thus far, I would third that.  

Anyway...since Spain doesn't have all of the same accessibility to certain ingredients, as in the US, I improvised with Fajita seasoning mix, diced tomatoes, and a small jalapeño pepper.  I also added some frozen corn and lime juice, as well as doubled the recipe.  

I love the soup!!!  It's difficult to find things with spice here is Spain, so it's a little Mexican food touch (and family favorite too) brought to my apartment here.

The downside is that I didn't ask my Mexican roommate about the secret of jalapeños before making the soup.  Shortly after cutting the tiny red pepper, the top joints of all of my fingers were on fire!!!!  For several hours, even after holding cold glasses, taking an Advil, and soaking/washing with baking soda - the burning sensation continued.  Thankfully my fingers are almost back to normality.  

So, moral of the story is this: the soup is great...but wear gloves (or at least "Protect the hands!" as my mom would say) when cutting the little ball of fire.