MEXICAN CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP

2 lbs. Boneless Chicken breasts and thighs, sprinkled liberally with TexJoy Steak Seasoning and Garlic Powder.  Bake in 400 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees.
2-3 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 Large Poblano Pepper, chopped
1/2 Medium Green or Red Bell Pepper
8 Garlic Cloves, chopped
4 Celery Stalks, chopped
10 Baby Carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
1 can Rotel Tomatoes, (I used the one with lime juice and cilantro)
3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock or Campbell's Chicken Broth (this is an approximate amount.                 You may want to add more broth or water depending on how much liquid you like in your                    soup)
1 small bag frozen Baby Lima Beans
1 small bag frozen Sweet Corn
1 large Yellow Squash, sliced into bite size pieces
6-8 Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced (can use mushroom of your choice)
1/3 cup Cilantro, minced
2 Dried Red Chiles (optional)
Salt and Pepper
Toppings:  Chopped avocado, shredded cheese, green onions, fresh chopped cilantro

In a large soup pot, add olive oil and first 7 ingredients.  Saute on low to medium heat until onion is transluscent.

Add the Rotel tomatoes and chicken stock.

Chop the chicken and add to the soup, along with the rest of the ingredients.  Cook for another 30 minutes or longer.  Serve with toppings.

ENJOY!

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP

Yesterday, I had painters at my house so I couldn't go anywhere.  I kind of like it when that happens.  It means I have to stay home and I can just stay in the kitchen, where I love to be!

I had chicken, some fresh thyme, fresh oregano and parmesan cheese so I was thinking I would make some kind of Chicken Italian soup.  But, I had the Food Network on and someone was caramelzing onions.  It looked so delicious that I started trying to figure out how I could incorporate those onions into my soup and then for some reason, I cannot tell you why, I thought Chicken Enchilada Soup sounded really good.  So good in fact, I completely changed gears and went that route instead.

Now I have never made Chicken Enchilada Soup, I have only eaten it.  My favorite is at Chili's restaurant, but I bet I haven't been to Chili's in 2 years or more.  Every time I would go, I would always get the Chicken Enchilada Soup as a starter.   Anyway, I don't know why, all of the sudden, I started craving it.  I went online to get a base recipe of what an enchilada soup should have.  One of the things it needed was masa flour.  I had some in the pantry but, of course, it was out of date...I don't even remember using it, so it was oldddd.  I already had everything else.  I didn't go by the recipe, I just used it as a guide to get some of the foundation right like how much masa flour to how much liquid.  Aside from that, I did my own thing.  I added and tasted, and added and tasted and then to figure out what needs to be added.  Yesterday, I had a helper.  My taster was my daughter Holly and she was a big help.  We added a couple of things that made the difference between a good soup and an awesome soup!

Since this is my first time to develop and make this recipe, I have only tried it with caramelized onions, so I don't know if just sauteing them would be enough or not...sorry.  But really, these onions do not have to be full out caramelized.  Even slightly caramelized would enhance the flavors of this soup.

I made some mini Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins to go with this and they were just the perfect thing to amp up the flavor even more.

This recipe is going on my favorite list....I love it when that happens!

CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP

2 pounds Chicken Breasts

Garlic Powder

Steak Seasoning

1 large Onion, chopped

2 tablespoons Butter

2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar

6 Garlic Cloves

1/2 - 1 large Poblano Pepper, chopped

1 Package McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix

1- 8 ounce can Tomato Sauce

1-1/2 cups Water

6 cans Campbell's Chicken Broth

2 cups Water

2 cups Masa Flour

1 Cup Water

2 tablespoons Chili Powder

2 teaspoons Cumin

1 - 10 ounce bag of frozen Corn 

Optional:  1 or 2 cans of Black Beans

8 ounce Sharp Cheddar Cheese, chopped into chunks

Salt to Taste.

Toppings:

Charred Corn

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Cilantro

Green Onions

1.  Season chicken breasts heavily with garlic powder and steak seasoning.

2.  Place in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until done.  This will depend on the thickness of the breasts.

I only used the breasts...I saved the thighs for something else.

3.  In a small pot, make the enchilada sauce according to the directions on the package.  Set aside.

4.  In a soup pot, melt butter, add sugar and stir.  Add the onions and and cook on medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the onions are medium brown in color. 

5.  Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.

6.  Add poblano pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

7.  Add the Chicken Broth and stir well over medium to high heat.

8.  Combine the Masa and 2 cups of water and whisk until creamy and all is dissolved.

9.  Whisk into the soup mixture until it is all mixed in well.

10. Add the last cup of water and stir.

11. Add all of the the Enchilada Sauce.

12. Sprinkle in the chili powder, cumin and stir until all is combined well.

13. Add frozen corn.

14. Add the chunk cheese and stir until all is melted and incorporated.

15. Add your chopped chicken breasts. 

16. Let cook for about 15 minutes.

17. Now is the time to add salt, if needed.  Taste first but remember that Salt is a flavor enhancer so don't be shy!

Top with your choice of toppings.

ENJOY!

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Yesterday, I tried a new recipe out of Cook's Illustrated Soups and Stews, Winter 2010 Magazine.  They are the best magazine for perfecting recipes.  It was originally supposed to be a crock pot recipe but I didn't have time to use a crock pot so I just made it on top of the stove.

The recipe is different from other chicken soup recipes mostly because of the way the chicken is incorporated into it.  The thighs are browned in butter and the chicken was supposed to be wrapped in foil and then placed in with the liquid to cook.  I really did not like the idea of foil being boiled with the soup. It just did not seem very safe to eat after boiling the foil so I decided to wrap the chicken in foil but bake it in the oven for an hour and a half, then take off the bone, chop and add to the soup.  It was really yummy that way because you can season the chicken which brings more flavor to the soup and keeps the chicken from being too tough.

I also added more veggies because I wanted my little grandson, who is scheduled to arrive in March, to get as many as I could fit in this recipe!  You can exchange your favorite veggies for the ones I used.  That's what is great about this recipe, it is really adaptable to each persons likes.

So, without further adieu, here is a great recipe to warm you up on a cold day!

**Sorry there are just a couple of pictures.  I just was not thinking about blogging this recipe while I was cooking it.

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

6 - bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
      Table salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
6 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
4 celery ribs, sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 quarts chicken broth (I used 10 cans of Campbells Chicken Broth)
2 bay leaves
4 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts (about 3 pounds)
8 ounces egg noodles
1-16 ounce frozen baby lima beans
1 can Great Northern Beans or any other white bean
1/2 small bag of fresh baby spinach, rough chopped

1.  Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook until skin is deep golden brown, turn over and repeat.  Remove thighs from dutch oven.

2.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.  Add carrots, celery, and onions to now-empty pot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic, thyme, bay leaves and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add 1 cup of broth to pot and scrape up any browned bits with wooden spoon.  Add the rest of the broth.

3.  Season the chicken breasts.  I used garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Wrap in foil and place in  a 350 degree oven on a cookie sheet for 1-1/2 hours

4.  Remove chicken from oven.  Take chicken out of the foil and place on a tray or plate until they are cool enough to handle.  Shred the chicken and set aside.  Discard skin, bones and excess fat.

5.  Stir in lima beans and cook for 40 minutes.

6.  Add the can of beans and the shredded chicken.

7.  Add egg noodles and cook for specified time on package.

8.  Add the spinach, stir and turn off heat.

9.  Discard the bay leaves.  Serve.

ENJOY!!

Click Here to Print Recipe

HEALTHY CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

 Yesterday, I was going through my cookbook trying to find my recipe for Texas Trash.  While I was thumbing through it, I ran across my recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I love this recipe but I haven't cooked it in awhile...probably because it has been soooo hot lately.  Anyway, it just sounded good and healthy today so it made the cut for dinner tonight.  The house smelled absolutely divine with the garlic, onions, cumin, and cilantro wafting through the air!

What I love about this recipe, is the rich flavor and that it is loaded with lots of healthy stuff like tomatoes, kidney beans, corn, garlic, onions, and poblano pepper.  I like to top it off with avocados and cheese.  But be sure to pick a firmer avocado than you would for guacamole so it will not turn to mush in your soup.  Even though this soup is called Chicken "Tortilla" soup, I don't like the tortillas in mine.  I serve the tortilla strips but I do not like the fact that they get soggy in my soup.  It's kind of like letting your cereal get soggy in  the milk...yuk.

Tonight, I made Navajo Cornbread and Guacamole to go along with the soup and it was scrump-dilly-ump! It made so much that even though there were 6 of us who ate, and some of us (they will remain anonymous) had multiple bowls, I have enough to have Round 2 tomorrow night!  This would be a perfect recipe to put in individual freezer containers and freeze for later.

 I will blog the soup tonight and the cornbread and guacamole later this week!

This has the little tortilla strips

HEALTHY CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

3-4 pounds chicken breasts (use your own judgment as to how much)
water
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
4 cans chicken broth (I use Campbells)
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 small cans diced green chiles
small bag frozen corn
1 or 2 cans Kidney Beans, black beans, pintos etc.  your choice
3 cups water (I used the water that I boiled the chicken in)
1 cup of cilantro, chopped (measure cilantro before chopped)
1 teaspoon oregano 
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin, salt and pepper

In a large stock pot, boil chicken in water that has been salted.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of garlic powder and boil until done (approximately 30 minutes), cool and cut into bite-size pieces.

In a large saucepan, melt butter and add oil.  

Saute' onions, poblano pepper, and garlic in the butter/oil until the they are translucent.

Here is a little safety tip...when cutting a bell pepper or any pepper for that matter, cut with the rough side up.  It is easier to cut with a dull knife and reduces the risk of the pepper slipping causing you to cut yourself.

Add chicken broth and tomatoes to the vegetables.

 I thought I would just throw a helpful note in here.  I use a Pampered Chef can opener.  I like it because it removes the lid but leaves the cans edge smooth and without a razor-sharp edge.

Add the tomato paste and tomato sauce

 Add your diced green chiles.

 Add the water that the chicken was boiled in.

Add the oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

Chop the cilantro and add to soup

Add corn

Then beans

And chicken

Stir and simmer covered for 1-2 hours

Spoon into your bowl and add your choice of toppings

I bought these instead of making them from scratch

 enjoy!