Chicken Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe off a blog sometime last year, but it looks like they've moved servers and not transferred over their old posts. I guess that means I get to type it up myself!

The weather cooled off enough this week to make me want to stir up some soup. When I asked my husband he requested a repeat of this Chicken Tortilla Soup. We tried to get some friends over to share in the bounty, but no such luck. Oh well, my sweet husband was appreciative and we'll have leftovers for the next decade or so. :)

This recipe is actually pretty speedy. You can cook up the chicken in advance. The most time consuming part is all the vegetable chopping and shredding the chicken. I talked my husband into shredding the chicken while he watched TV--meanwhile I did the rest.

Saute up some onions, red & green bell peppers, and spices in a dutch oven with a little olive oil.

Mix in a little tomato paste, a can of Rotel, and couple of boxes of chicken broth.

Look at that expert shredding job! The chicken is really well seasoned before cooking, which just adds to all the spicy good flavors in the soup.

Mmm mmm mmm... look at all that chicken!

Some frozen corn and corn tortillas add to the flavor. Once you simmer for 10-15 minutes, the tortillas dissolve and thicken the soup.

Ready to eat!

Served up with some fresh shredded cheddar and tortilla chips. Delicious!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

For the chicken:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Ground cumin
Salt & Pepper

For the soup:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 can Rotel
2 (32 oz) boxes chicken broth
8-10 corn tortillas, sliced into strips and then cut in half
1 cup frozen corn


To cook the chicken:
Place chicken breasts on foil-lined baking sheet (I have a stone baker I used instead). Brush with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with chili powder, garlic powder and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Don't be shy with the spices--they'll just add to the flavor of the soup once you add in the chicken. Place in 400 degree oven. The original recipe said to cook 12-15 minutes; it took more like 30 minutes to cook mine all the way through because they were pretty seriously thick.


For the soup:
In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions, bell peppers, and seasonings. Drop the heat to medium and saute until the onions are translucent and the bell peppers begin to soften, about 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato paste and mix into the vegetables. Add the Rotel and the broth and bring up to a boil. Meanwhile, shred the chicken and add it to the soup. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the corn and sliced tortillas. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary. Cover and allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
 

Enter, stage right

I've had several blogs before--some public, some private--but figured I would give it another shot and see how long I can stick with it.

I've been married for eight months now. It feels like we've been married forever. It feels like it has been no time at all. It hasn't been as much of an adjustment as I thought it would be. I think the biggest adjustment has been financially--combining our incomes, paying all our bills. It's a struggle, honestly. I know it won't always be this way--I know that sooner or later we'll pay off debts and have more freedom. It's just been really difficult to build up any kind of savings or to think of making any larger purchases when every month we are tiptoeing to make sure we don't cross into the red. Then when unexpected expenses pop up--like $100 for glasses, or the mysterious clunking noise from the bottom of my car--it's a scary thing to know whether we'll balance it out.

So currently there's a part of my car being held together with a rag and duct tape until we both get paid again. Whee!

Our biggest weakness is eating out--that's our standard "date", how we relax and celebrate the weekend or what we default to when we're too tired to cook. I'm proud to say that we've cut our eating out bill in half, saving our dollars for special occasions and not spending money on food we don't love. I'd rather forego a couple of fast food lunches if it means we can go get really awesome burgers at our favorite burger joint later.

One big change since I got married has been in the kitchen. I see cooking as my big contribution to the household. Mostly we've had hits, but a few misses have been along the way as well. Tonight I made meatloaf--one of my dear husband's childhood favorites, but not one of mine. But I figured, what the heck--I can't remember the last time I had meatloaf, so why not give it another shot?

I tried this recipe from A Sweet Pea Chef. I didn't get the Italian parsley, and I forgot to add in the Worcestershire sauce (after buying it especially for this recipe, grr argh!) but I was still feeling okay about it. In the end it came out really soggy and was too moist and squishy for my taste. My dear husband helpfully told me (after the fact, of course!) that his parents used to A) make meatloaf in the microwave (???) which he did NOT recommend, but also B) take it out halfway through and drain off some of the liquid. NOW he tells me! He seems to be coming down with something and was asleep through the cooking process, though, so I can't really hold him responsible.

Tomorrow I plan to tackle another childhood nemesis: pork chops. A couple of months ago I made some maple-rosemary glazed pork medallions that were good, but I'm almost fully convinced that I just don't like pork. Bacon is good, ham is sometimes okay, but pork? I don't know. I'm willing to give it another shot, though, because honestly there's only so many things you can do with chicken and ground beef.


I guess that's enough of a start to this, so... until next time!