Tortilla Soup for the Less Adventurous Crowd

Today...dreary, chilly, damp.

Soup and crusty French bread...necessary.

Soup of the day...Chicken Tortilla.

Challenge...my Man does not like tomatoes, a main ingredient in this dish. Or onions. Or peppers.

Happily, my Man loves chicken in soup AND he's a big fan of tortilla chips.

Everything else...well, I can work around it, right?!

You'll need:
(Printable Recipe here)

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon canola or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon minced garlic
juice of 1/2 lime or 1 Tablespoon bottled lime juice
4-5 cups chicken stock (or 3 - 14 oz cans)
2 cups bottled salsa (shhhhhh don't tell)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
4 oz tortilla chips (for about 2 1/2 crushed)
shredded cheese for garnish

**other ingredients as desired like: sour cream, chopped avocado, guacamole, sliced black olives, jalapenos, black beans...what ever you might add to a plate of nachos!

Here's what to do...
First, pour oil into skillet and heat. While oil heats, cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Add chicken pieces to skillet and sprinkle cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper over chicken.

Add minced garlic to the pan and stir chicken and garlic. Squeeze or pour lime juice over chicken as it finishes cooking.

Pour entire contents into a dutch oven (soup pot) and return to heat. Next, add chicken broth and salsa UNLESS...you are cooking for anyone who may not enjoy tomatoes, onions, green chilies or peppers. If you have such a person at your table, add the salsa to a blender or food processor and puree.

This adds the flavors without all of the objectionable textures.

"Hello...Dad? Mommy just added a whole bunch of salsa to dinner!!"

Add contents of blender to soup pot along with the frozen corn and bring soup to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed (add salt, pepper, lime juice etc).

Crumble tortilla chips into bottom of soup bowls and add soup. Add cheese, and any other toppings desired.

Serve with crusty bread or corn bread. Enjoy!

My Man declared this a Do-Over and said that the level of heat in the soup was just right for him. Next time, however, I'm adding a bit of Texas Pete to my bowl!

Snow's in the Forecast...Got Soup?

Freezing rain, snow and ice have been mentioned in the forecast for the next few days which causes me to begin assembling ingredients for soup post haste! At The Wright Place we live on soup during the winter - it's in our line-up at least twice a week beginning in December and ending sometime in March.  One of our favorites comes from one of my coziest  cookbooks, written by the same authors who brought us those apple muffins a while back.

The cookbook is called Just a Matter of Thyme...

and it's simply adorable!

Today, we will be cooking...

...my Man's most requested soup, Chicken Soup Au Gratin (sans celery).

(Complete ingredient list follows post.)

First, grab your best soup pot and some chicken breasts.

The recipe calls for "two chicken breasts, whole".  I, however, never have "two chicken breasts, whole" (meaning, I think, chicken breasts which come bone-in and skin on), so I use three or four of those frozen jobs from the humongous bag in my freezer.  It all works.  Salt the water lightly and simmer the chicken until tender.  Remove the chicken from the broth and dice.

Now, to the broth add...

...chopped carrots.  

The recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but I usually add more. We all love carrots. The recipe also calls for 1/2 cup diced celery. I completely ignore that line, I'm not a fan of celery. Next, add 1/2 cup chopped onion. I pull mine from the freezer where I keep lots of snack-sized zip-top bags with 1/2 cup each of chopped onions. 

 I put them straight from the freezer into the pot, in a matter of 2 minutes or so they are defrosted and cooking.

Boil the vegetables until tender.  Gradually stir in 1 10 oz. can of cream of chicken soup and 

1/2 cup of milk or Half 'n' Half (I use 1% milk).

Next, put the diced chicken back into the soup, and season with pepper.

Finally, the best part...

...grated cheddar cheese. Be generous, you won't be sorry.

Heat through, stirring until the cheese melts.

Get your soup bowls and enjoy!

As written, the recipe serves four. 

I usually triple it and this family of six can make it last for at least two meals.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

2 chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup diced celery (if you must)

1 (10 oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk or Half 'n' Half

ground pepper

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated