Mexican Meatball & Salsa Soup

2 (6 inch) corn torillas, cut into 20 1/4" strips
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 C uncooked long grain rice, divided
1 lb ultra-lean ground beef
1 Tbl dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
cooking spray
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 C thinly sliced celery
1/4 C thinly sliced carrot
1 garlic clove, minced
2/3 C salsa
1/2 C water
2 (10.5 oz) can low-salt chicken broth
1/2 C frozen whole-kernel corn
1/2 C (2 oz) shredded monterey jack cheese (I used jalapeno stuff)

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Combine tortilla strips and oil; toss well to coat.  Arrange in a single
layer on a jelly roll pan; bake at 400 for 10 min or until crisp & brown, 
stirring once.  Set aside.  

3) Combine 1/4 C rice, ground beef, and next 5 ingredients (beef through
pepper) in a bowl.  Shape mixture into 24 1-inch meatballs.  Place on 
a broiler pan.  Bake at 400 for 10 min.  

4) Place a large dutch oven coated with cooking spray over med-high 
heat.  Add onion, celery, & carrot; saute 4 min.  Add garlic; saute 1 min.
Add salsa, water, and broth;  bring to a boil.  Add 1/4 C rice and 
meatballs; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 min or until rice is tender 
and meatballs are done.  Stir in corn; cook 1 min or until thoroughly 
heated. 

5) Spoon into bowls, sprinkle with cheese and tortilla strips.  

Makes 4 servings.