Begin by preparing all of the ingredients: Peel and finely dice the carrots, yellow and green onions, mince the garlic, and open the can of diced tomatoes. Measure out all the seasonings into a bowl: the chicken bouillon, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon cracked pepper (hold off on the salt for now). Dice the cilantro and juice the lime. Now we're ready to start!
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large pot that has a lid. Add the carrot and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add in both onions and garlic and cook until the veggies are fork-tender. Next, add in all of the spices. Toast the spices for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Stir constantly (or reduce heat as needed) so nothing burns. Remove the veggie/spice mixture back to that bowl you measured your spices in and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pot. Reduce heat to medium- low. Break the angel hair pasta in half and add to the pot. Cook the dry noodles while constantly stirring for 3-5 minutes. (I use tongs to flip/stir the noodles since they're still quite long.) Cook until the noodles have turned golden brown and are slightly blistered. Turn off the heat; add in the entire can of diced tomatoes (undrained), cilantro, lime juice, cooked veggies and spices (from step 1), and 6 cups of chicken broth; stir. Turn heat on to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to a rapid simmer, and cook until the noodles are soft and have soaked up most of the broth. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth and it's ready to serve!
While the noodles are cooking, prepare the toppings. Finely shred Monterrey jack and Cheddar cheese. Set out tortilla strips and sour cream. Chop some cherry tomatoes or make a quick pico de gallo. Set out additional lime wedges and/or cilantro. Prepare the steak or chicken topping - see the last two paragraphs in the post for directions.
Assemble by serving up the pasta and broth into large bowls. Add your favorites in this order: cheese first (so it can melt well), meat next, sour cream, tomatoes/pico, cilantro, lots of tortilla strips, cotija, and a few squeezes of fresh lime. Enjoy!
Notes
Note 1: to prepare the chicken or steak there are a few options (marinate steak or use a carne asada rub to rub over chicken/steak and then cook or grill). Read the last two paragraphs in the blog post for directions.Nutritional information is calculated using chicken thigh for the meat portion.