Foodie Friday -- Chicken Tortilla Soup

Problem: rotisserie chicken sitting in the fridge. I had deboned it the previous week, but it was time to use it up.

Solution: Chicken Tortilla Soup

I found a version, well, actually I found numerous versions of this soup, but I didn't make my own fried tortilla chips--are you kidding me? What kind of nut has the time to do that?

And it looked a little bit boring, so I spiced it up with the peppers. I didn't think about adding zucchini until later in the day after I went to the store, so it didn't get put in there.

BUT if you follow this recipe and add the zucchini, it's pretty darn close to tasting like the Chicken Tortilla Soup that is served at On The Border.

Totally unintentional, but there it is.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 Tbls. oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ Tbls. cumin

1 Tbls. chili powder

½ tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbls. flour

3 bay leaves

2--14 ½ oz. cans diced tomatoes

8 cups chicken broth

Chicken meat from one rotisserie chicken, cubed

Cooked Wild rice—make according to package directions—it usually takes 30-35 minutes so start rice about the time you start the soup.

Avocados, sliced

Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Cheddar cheese, shredded

Tortilla chips, crushed

Sour cream

Heat oil in large pan over high heat. Add onion, peppers, garlic and cilantro; sauté for about 3 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, black pepper, salt and flour; stir and cook for a minute or two.

Add two cans of diced tomatoes and bay leaves.

Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes before adding rotisserie chicken *if you are adding raw chicken, add when soup comes to a boil*.

Adjust seasonings—more salt might be needed.

Cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaves and enjoy!

 *do not add the rice to the pot of soup--it will turn to mush*

Assembling:

½ cup of wild rice in bowl. Add 8 oz. of soup. Top with crushed tortilla chips, cheese, avocados, etc. Enjoy!

 

Tips & Tricks:

·         Yes, the cumin and chili powder are in TABLESPOONS

·         When chopping the peppers, you might want to wear gloves

·         If you don’t use gloves expect the skin under your nails to tingle. . . jus’ sayin’

·         If you want it hotter, keep the seeds and the membrane inside the peppers

·         Cut the top off the pepper, pull out the seeds, cut them in half and proceed to dice them from the inside as the outside of the skin is tough. Be careful, because it might squirt you with juice as you cut. DO NOT RUB EYES!

·         Again, I use the Better Than Bouillon chicken base. I usually add a bit along with the spices and then add the water later.

·         I used rotisserie chicken because I had it in the fridge and it needed to be used. If you don’t have pre-cooked chicken, simply cut up four boneless, skinless chicken breasts and add after the soup comes to a boil. The chunks will cook in the broth. –just don’t taste test your flavors until after the chicken is cooked.

·         If you want to add zucchini, then slice one zucchini into rounds and half them. Add when you add chicken

·         If you want a thicker soup after it cooks down—mix 1 Tbls of cornstarch with ¼ cup of broth. Add to soup. Depending on your preference, you might need to repeat.

·         To put a healthier spin to the toppers—use 0% plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, --use a reduced fat shredded cheese, --or baked tortilla chips.

·         This recipe is Weight Watcher friendly—roughly 5 points per 8 oz. serving. Rice will cost you extra points, unless you are on the Simply Filling technique.

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday -- Beef and Barley Soup

Crockpot soup!  I love a good crockpot soup, don't you?

The original recipe was from the 1950's or 60's. It's old. My mom had typed it on a card, then I typed it on a card in the 1980's. It called for beef shank or neck. . . I don't know about you, but the three grocery stores that I shopped at didn't have beef shank or neck. Years ago, Walmart had beef tongue, but that's another story.

Most modern stores in the US won't carry the 'remnants' from animals. If you can find a cheaper cut of beef, more power to you! The how to cook will be in the Tips and Tricks.

I also couldn't find barley. What is this world coming to??  By the time I got to store #3, Reasor's, a local grocery chain, I found a wonderful selection of grains . . . but no barley. Every other kind of seed and grain imaginable, but no barley. What to do? I spent 5 minutes trying to remember the size of the pearl barley we used for this recipe. I found spelt. Yes, spelt. It's a German wheat grain. After cooking for eight hours, it still had a bit of a chew to the texture. I enjoyed it, my hubby didn't.

Beef and Barley Soup

1 1/2 bottom roast, bite-sized cubes
2 carrots, diced
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
3/4-1 cup barley (spelt)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. savory
4 cups beef broth

2 Tbls. cornstarch, for thickening

Combine all ingredients, EXCEPT cornstarch, in crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours, or until beef and barley are tender.

To thicken, place cornstarch into small bowl, add a few spoonfuls of broth to cornstarch and stir to make a slurry, stir into soup. Repeat if needed to thicken to desired level.

Taste for seasoning. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks:

• For beef shank or neck: Take three pounds of beef (because there will be bone, etc. and you need more meat), dredge in flour, place in hot pan with 4Tbls oil, brown on all sides. THEN cook it like the recipe states, before serving it, remove the meat from the bones and put it back into the crockpot. 
• If unsure how salty the beef broth is, then use only half of the salt stated in the recipe and adjust after it cooks.
• If using dried parsley vs fresh, then use about 1-2 Tbls.
• I turned the crockpot on high for the last hour to cook the spelt a little more
• I used Better than Bouillon beef base. I find it to be less salty than regular broth
• I didn't need to adjust any seasonings. It turned out really good.
• Reheats well. The beef became really tender after it sat for a day or two in the fridge

Enjoy!

Maze of Monster Mix-Ups is still available for free today.

Tomorrow will be a different book, but I can't remember which one! 

Foodie Friday -- French Onion Soup

UPDATE: I flelt this amount of sherry made the soup too sweet. It needs to be reduced to 1/3 cup. I also added 2 tsp. of Better than Boullion beef base to enrich the purchased beef broth.

Okay, I'm a little late today, but I have managed to link all the appropriate blogs to their respective pages! YAY! Yes, I managed to let it slide for three months. Hopefully, I'll keep to a regular monthly schedule . . . starting October 1. ;-P

 "Onward, Teb!"

Today's Foodie Friday is French Onion Soup. I'll confess upfront that I haven't made this recipe--yet. I'm actually planning to make it on Sunday.

And this is a recipe that my kidlet wanted me to make. It turns out my 11-year-old likes French Onion Soup. We discovered it when we were in France--EPCOT'S France, not France France--and were eating at the French pavilion.


For the most part, this soup isn't rocket science. It's very simple to make . . . especially if you like cwying onion tears. I chose this particular recipe because of the dry sherry that is to be added to the stock. Dry sherry--NOT cooking sherry or cream sherry--adds another dimension to many casseroles and soups. The key is not to use so much that it overpowers instead of enhancing.

I don't have a French baguette, but I do have some leftover Tuscan bread. And I have left over Gruyere cheese, not enough, so I'm adding some Swiss that I happen to have.

French Onion Soup

4 Tbls. butter
2 pounds yellow onions, sliced into 1/4-inch circles
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbls. flour
1/2 cup dry sherry
6 cups beef stock
1 tsp. thyme
Coarse salt and pepper
1 small baguette, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
8 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (large holes on box grater), about 3 cups

Melt butter in large heavy pot on medium-low heat. Add the onions and spread out in as thin a layer as possible. Sprinkle with sugar; cook, stirring as needed to keep from sticking, until onions are soft, golden brown and beginning to caramelize, about 1 hour.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions; stir to coat. Add the sherry, beef stock and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cook, partly covered, for about 30 minutes to let the flavors combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler. Lightly toast the bread under broiler, set aside. Ladle the hot soup into 6 ovenproof bowls. Arrange the bowls on a baking pan. Place 1 or 2 slices of toasted bread over each bowl of soup. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated cheese over the bread in each bowl, and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and turning brown around the edges. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Taco Soup

This recipe has been in my files for many, many years. I think I picked it up during one of my previous Weight Watcher experiences. Trust me -- the current vision is the BEST version! Originally, it was one WW point per cup, but the calculations were different back then. Now, the points value (after I built the recipe in their program) is roughly 3 points per cup. Personally, I’d err on the heavier side of three and call it 4 points. Once the beef and onions are cooked, the rest of the ingredients are simply dumped in the pan. Easy-Peasy.

Uh, no my kiddo does NOT endorse this soup. I don’t know why, considering she will eat Hot Wings with the HOT HOT sauce on them. But who can fathom the minds of kiddos?

**Yes, this recipe freezes well **

Taco Soup

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped
3 16-oz. cans Chili beans, undrained
16-oz can whole corn, undrained
16-oz can chopped tomatoes, undrained
15-oz can tomato sauce
1 ½ cups water
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dry salad dressing mix

Cook beef and onion until beef is browned; drain. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15-30 minutes.

Enjoy!