Tortilla Soup

This recipe is courtesy of Pioneer Woman. I tweaked it as I was making it and it turned out delicious!! We'll be making it again probably in the near future.

2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Cumin
2 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 teaspoons Garlic Powder
1 teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Diced Red Onion
1/2 Diced Green Bell Pepper
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 mild Chile (I used an Anaheim)
1 can (28 Oz. Can) Diced Tomatoes 
4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
4 cups Hot Water
2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
3 Tablespoons Cornmeal
5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches
For the garnishes:
Sour Cream
Diced Avocado
Diced Red Onion
Salsa Or Pico De Gallo
Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
Cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 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.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (I used frozen chicken breasts and so baked them for 40 minutes), or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green 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.

Pour in tomatoes, chicken stock, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. 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.

Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, pico de gallo, and grated cheese, if you have it! (The garnishes really make the soup delicious.)

Zuppa Toscana

Phil loves this soup from Olive Garden and I've tried to make it before (when I was younger and much less experienced in the kitchen) and it turned out really really badly.
Then I found this recipe on a blog I love called Gimme Some Oven. I just omitted the bacon since it seemed a bit much to have bacon and sausage in the same soup. It was really delicious! Phil said it was right on with what he was hoping for. I would know... I usually go for the minestrone :)
We were too busy devouring it to get pictures before so this is packing up the leftovers to put in the fridge.

1 pound hot (spicy) Italian sausage
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 medium onion – peeled, chopped
1-2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and sliced 1/4″ thick
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cups chopped kale or Swiss chard
1 cup heavy whipping cream (or half and half, or whole milk)
salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces as it cooks.  Remove from heat, drain the extra grease, set aside.

In a large pot, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add garlic and onions, and cook 3 minutes.  Then add potatoes, chicken broth, water and sausage, and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Add kale, and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes (or until the potatoes have softened.)

Add cream (or half and half) to soup, then season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm.

Chicken Chowder

Ever since I can remember clam chowder has been my favorite soup. I found this recipe on a food blog called Whisk. All 4 of us really liked this soup. I didn't have the fresh thyme so I used a little bit of dried thyme. I also used a green pepper since I've never really liked the red variety. Honestly, if you knew me as a kid, you'd be surprised that I even eat the green kind! You hardly taste it in this recipe and it adds a nice little zing. This was such a yummy chowder and a lot easier than the last clam chowder I made!

6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

4 ounces bacon, cut into a ⅓ -inch dice

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery (4 ounces), cut into ⅓ -inch dice

1 small red bell pepper (6 ounces), cut into ½-inch dice

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 pounds Yukon God, Maine, PEI, or other all-purpose potatoes, peeled and slice ⅓ inch thick

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups heavy cream (optional) or 2 cups chicken stock

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper (optional)

Broccoli (optional)

For garnish:

6 green onions, very thinly sliced

In a frying pan, sauté the chicken. Set aside.

Fry the bacon until crisp and golden brown. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.

Add the butter, the diced onion, celery and red bell pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not brown.

Add the potatoes and 4 cups of stock. The stock should just barely cover the potatoes; if it doesn’t, add enough water to cover. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Add the thyme leaves. Cover and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 10 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the stock hasn’t thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot and cook a minute or two longer to release their starch.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chicken meat. Stir in the cream (or stock). Season to taste with salt, black pepper, and a bit of cayenne pepper if you like.

Chicken Soup

I take a very "whatever is in the kitchen" view to soups in general. I've never been disappointed, so use what you have that sounds good!

6-7 chicken legs or thighs (breast can be used but is not as flavorful)
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 t garlic
6 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2c mushrooms, sliced
2c of the starch of your choosing (egg noodles, mini soup pasta, rice, that sort of thing)


Boil chicken in 6-7 cups of water (make sure the meat is always covered) until it's cooked through (I usually just leave it an hour or 2 while I'm doing other stuff around the house).
Remove and cool.
Add to the remaining water the remaining ingredients. Take the meat off the chicken bones and cut into pieces. Add to soup. Leave on a low simmer for 30 minutes. Add your starch to the soup and leave at a low simmer for another 30 minutes or more.
If water level ever seems low, just add more!

Tomato Soup

I never really had this that I remember growing up, but it did always seem comforting the thought of having this with grilled cheese, so the other night we made this version on our own and even the most critical in our family loved it!

1/2c chopped carrot
1/4c chopped celery
1T dehydrated onion (you can use fresh, but I didn't feel like crying involuntarily)
1 T olive oil
In medium saucepan, cook vegetables in olive oil for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Add:
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 5.5 oz can of tomato juice
2t sugar
1/2t Italian seasoning
salt and peper to taste
Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Put half at a time in the blender and blend until smooth. You can add water to bring to desired consistency, but we liked it nice and thick. I can't believe I actually got Joshua to eat carrots!!