Chicken Tortilla Soup

We had a few weeks of cold and rainy weather. I wish I had made this soup back then. For some reason I was all about making heavy and  filling stews. This soup is nice change from the stews. Light enough for lunch or add a salad or some cornbread and make it a filling dinner. Feel free to use a rotisserie chicken if you want to make things even easier. I’m all about shortcuts and making things easy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 cup Diced Onion
• 1/4 cup Orange Bell Pepper
• 1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
• 32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 4 cups Hot Water
• 2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
2. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.
3. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, orange pepper, red pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.
5. Pour in Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, black beans and corn kernels. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.
6. Check seasonings, adding more if needed—add more chili powder if it needs more spice, and be sure not to undersalt. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.
7. Optional: Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, cilantro, pico de gallo, and grated cheese or whatever you like!

 

Advertisement

Mexican Vegetable Soup

If you took a quick glance at my most recent posts, you might think I’m all about sweets and chicken. While I’m not going to confirm or deny that may be true, I do make other recipes as well. You might even say somewhat healthy ones every once in a while too.  So for my vegetarian friends out there, I have not forsaken you. (Yes, I’m looking at you Sue T.!)

This soup recipe can be altered to whichever vegetables you have or that are in season. It is called vegetable soup afterall. I used what I had on hand. The flavor of the soup was reminiscent of a chicken tortilla soup without the chicken or tortillas. And be forewarned, this recipe makes a lot of servings (6-8) for you to share on a cold winter’s day.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 bell peppers, diced (I used 1/2  each of an orange, red and yellow bell peppers)
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons  ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 cups diced roma tomatoes
• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen or 1 can of corn)
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can (4 ounce) diced green chile peppers
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1-2 zucchinis,  sliced

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:

• avocado slices
• cilantro
• lime wedges or lime juice
• Mexican crema or sour cream
• shredded cheese
• tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.
2. Add bell peppers, carrots and onions to pot. Cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir occasionally.
3. Add in minced garlic, cumin and cayenne. Stir and cook for a minute.
4. Add in tomatoes, corn, black beans, diced green chiles and vegetable stock.
5. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil.
6. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Add in zucchini.
8. Re-cover and simmer for another 10 more minutes, or until the zucchini is tender.
9. Serve immediately with optional toppings. 

Vietnamese Style Chicken Wings

Yes, once again I’m making chicken wings.  Most the Vietnamese chicken wing recipes I’ve seen call for fish sauce. As my son and I are allergic to most things seafood, I cannot use it as it is too strong.  So, believe it or not, that is why I am using Worcestershire sauce for the unami in this recipe. Thus, the reason why I call it Vietnamese “style.”  These wings are sweet, sticky and a little bit spicy. Good news is this recipe is quite simple, uses only a few ingredients, no oil frying required and done in less than 45 minutes.  For my vegetarian friends, maybe you can substitute fried or pan seared tofu as the sauce itself is quite tasty.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 pounds chicken wings
• kosher salt
• ground black pepper
• garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons sweet soy sauce Kecap Manis
• 2-3 tablespoons Sambal Oelek Chili Paste (start with 2 tablespoons and add more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• cilantro chopped for garnish
• lime wedges (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 475 F degrees.
2. For easier clean up, cover a baking sheet in foil or use a silicone mat as the sauce becomes quite sticky.
3. Lay out the chicken wings in a single layer in prepared baking pan.
4. Season the chicken wings on both sides using salt, pepper and garlic powder.
5. Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned or cooked through.
6. While the chicken wings bake, prepare the sauce.
7. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the sweet soy sauce, chili paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to mix well.
8. When the chicken is fully cooked, transfer the wings to a large bowl. Add half the sauce and, using tongs, toss to thoroughly coat. Return the wings to the lined sheet pan and arrange in a single, even layer. 
9. Bake for an additional 6 to 8 minutes, or until browned. Remove from the oven. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
10. Optional: Serve with a lime wedge. I like how the lime juice offsets the sweetness of the soy sauce. 

 

Pulled Pork Tacos with Pineapple Pico De Gallo

Everyday is taco day in my house. But how about a little sweet and spicy kick?  Tex Mex meets Hawaiian and this is the end result. The slow cooker does most of the work, you get all the credit. Can’t beat that!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 pounds pork shoulder
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (3 limes)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks or fresh if available
• 1 small white or red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers (optional)
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• 20  small corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 6 quart slow cooker add pork shoulder.
2. In a large bowl, add barbecue sauce, brown sugar, lime juice (reserve 1 tablespoon for the pineapple pico de gallo), cayenne pepper, chili powder and garlic powder. Mix together to form a paste and spread evenly over pork shoulder.
3. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours; or you can cook on high for 5 to 6 hours. Shred when done cooking. 
4. When your pork is ready, assemble the pineapple pico de gallo.
5. Slice the pineapple chunks into smaller pieces and place in large bowl. Add the diced onions, jalapeno pepper, tomatoes, cilantro and reserved 1 tablespoon of lime juice. If you can handle the extra heat, add the crushed red peppers to the bowl. 
6. Top your tortillas with pulled pork, pineapple pico de gallo and shredded cabbage.
7. Garnish with lime wedges. 

You can also change this recipe into pulled pork sliders by substituting Hawaiian bread rolls for the corn tortillas. 

Frijoles Charros (Mexican Cowboy Beans)

I’ve been on a Mexican food kick lately. Whenever I eat something at any restaurant, I always think to myself, “I wonder what they used to make this?” I’ve had these beans numerous times at my favorite Mexican restaurant. And I finally decided to try to recreate their recipe, but of course make it as easy and simple as possible. They turned out delicious! I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. For my vegetarian friends, substitute with seitan bacon or use a few drops of liquid smoke and use vegetable broth instead of beef broth.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 4-5 slices of bacon, chopped into small strips
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, undrained
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth

DIRECTIONS:

1. Over medium high heat, add bacon pieces to large saucepan. Stir bacon pieces 2-3 minutes until mostly cooked. Drain excess fat from pan.
2. Add diced onion, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro and tomatoes to bacon in pan. Stir until combined.
3. Next add pinto beans and beef broth. Stir well and bring liquid to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.
5. Garnish with additional cilantro and serve as either the main course or a side dish.

 

Cilantro Lime Chicken and Rice

I love a one pot dish. Less mess, less to clean. So keep it simple and stop there I tell myself. But alas, I always have to go an extra step. Why not make an avocado cilantro dressing to garnish this chicken with? You could make a double batch of the dressing and save the extra for your salads. If you are going to give yourself extra things to clean, might as well make it worth your while. Plus you have half an avocado left to use. Just saying….

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken stock (or broth)
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, reserve a teaspoon for garnish
• juice of 2 limes

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 avocado
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Be sure to use a covered skillet for this recipe. Melt butter over medium high heat. Once butter is melted, add chicken and cook 2 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Add rice and garlic to skillet and stir for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.
3. Add chicken stock, cilantro and lime juice. Stir until combined. 
4. Place chicken breasts on top of the rice mixture. Cover skillet with lid and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 25 minutes until chicken and rice is fully cooked and liquid is absorbed. 
5. While the chicken breasts and rice are cooking, prepare your dressing.
6. Add all dressing ingredients to your food processor or blender. 
7. Pulse until smooth. Add more water or lime juice if needed. 
8. When chicken and rice are ready, drizzle dressing over chicken and sprinkle with reserved cilantro. Dress with sliced limes for more flair.