Tortilla Soup With Shredded Chicken

This recipe comes from the blog The Reluctant Gourmet. You can adjust the amount of spices to bring the heat up or down depending on how you prefer your soup. I used the minimum amount of spices because my family (my son) is not fond of spicy foods. I did not use the cilantro for similar reasons. You can save some time if you use rotisserie chicken. The soup can be served with just the fried tortillas or you can include freshly diced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, or sour cream. You can use any combination or all of those to add to this soup. I happened to have some sour cream so I used a dollop of that on top of my soup.

Tortilla Soup Recipe with Shredded Chicken

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS:

· 8 tablespoons Canola oil

· 5 10" to 12" corn tortillas

· 1 onion

· 6 garlic cloves

· 1 small bunch of cilantro

· 2 - 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

· 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

· 14 ounces of canned or frozen corn

· 3/4 – 1-1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin

· 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon chili powder

· 4 bay leaves

· 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or try thighs

· 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

· juice from 1 lime

Directions:

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Wash and towel try the cilantro, remove stems and chop. Open the cans of tomatoes and have them ready. Rinse the chicken under cold water and dry.

Cut up 2 of the tortillas into 1/4 inch strips and fry them in 3 tablespoons of Canola oil. You want them to be a golden brown but be careful not to burn them, they cook quickly. Remove the strips from pot and transfer to some paper towels to drain. Season with a little salt.

Heat the remaining oil over medium high heat and saute the onions for a couple of minutes. Then add garlic and saute for another minute or two. Tear the remaining 3 corn tortillas into bite size pieces and add to the pot.

Add the cilantro, stir, and cook for a minute more. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice and the chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, add the corn, whole chicken breasts, and cayenne. Simmer the chicken breasts for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked throughout. Remove the chicken breasts and put aside to cool. Turn off the soup at this point.

Remove the bay leaves. Once the chicken breasts are cool, shred them with your hands and return to the pot. Add your lime juice and taste for spiciness. Reheat, and serve with the fried tortilla strips.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Easy Taco Pizza

I know, I know...  we all need to lose weight but it was Superbowl weekend.  I wanted to make something yummy to eat during the game (yadda yadda yadda).  I didn't want Buffalo Chicken Wings or anything of that sort, so I ferreted out a recipe on one of those online recipe sites.  Probably, www.allrecipes.com or something like it.  It is a recipe for Easy Taco Pizza.  After reading the recipe, I decided to make my own taco seasoning for a myriad of reasons.  The first and most important reason was that I hadn't bought any taco seasoning at the grocery store.  I also figured it was more economical to make my own seasoning from what I had in the house rather than buying a packet.  So, there you have it.  A combination of laziness, lack of forethought and cheapness motivated me to make the taco seasoning myself.  Wait... I had another more altruistic reason that turned out to be completely bogus.  I thought that all taco seasoning packets had MSG in them.  I am against MSG for health reasons.  I'm sure I eat enough of it in prepared foods without adding it to foods I make myself.  In this case, I found out that I was wrong.  It seems that now McCormick is advertising that their seasoning mixes do not contain MSG! Are they doing this just for me?  I doubt it, but it is nice to know they care.  Anyway, this recipe is a nice mix of two favorite dishes into one delicious meal.

Easy Taco Pizza

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 20 min

Cooking Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 packet of taco seasoning mix

1 can (4-ounces) diced green chilies

1 store bought pizza crust

1 can refried beans

1 ½  cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

¼ cup green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.       Prepare ground beef according to seasoning packet directions. Be sure to drain excess fat after browning meat. Once the taco meat is prepared, stir in the chilies and set aside if still working on the other steps below.

3.       While the meat is cooking, smear the pizza crust with the refried beans.  Spread evenly across the crust leaving a ring of crust (unless you prefer to dress to the edge of the pizza).

4.       Once taco meat is done, pour it over the crust and spread evenly. Top with cheddar and green onions.

5.       Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Allow pizza to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Taco Seasoning

Prep Time: 1 Minute

Servings: 10

"This is a mixture of spices that approximates what you would buy in a package of taco seasoning. Depending on how spicy you and your family like your dishes, use as little or as much as you want."

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Chicken Enchiladas and Spanish Quinoa

I made this Hispanic meal a few weeks ago.  The boys loved it.  I used quinoa instead of rice because I had it in the cupboard.  Quinoa is a grain that is very high in protein.  The combination of these dishes proved to be delicious.

Chicken Enchiladas
Servings: 8

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pint sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 (12 oz.) jar taco sauce
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.  In a medium, non-stick skilled over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear.  Drain excess fat.  Cube the chicken and return it to the skillet.  Add the onion, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano and ground black pepper.  Heat until cheese melts.  Stir in salt, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, green pepper and garlic.

3.  Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas.  Arrange in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, Cover with taco sauce and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Spanish Quinoa
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 (14-1/2 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
water
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup quinoa, washed and drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Directions:

1.  Drain tomatoes and reserve juice.
2.  Heat oil and saute garlic and onions until translucent.
3.  Place the tomato juice in a liquid measuring cup and add enough water to equal 1 cup of liquid.
4.  Add the liquid to the sauteed garlic and onions; bring to a boil.
5.  Stir in the quinoa, pepper, and salt.
6.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
7.  Stir in tomatoes, chili powder, and cumin; cook for another 2-4 minutes until hot.

I decided to toast the quinoa in the pan after sauteing the garlic and onion.  That added a nice nutty flavor to the dish.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook