Hot Mexican Soup Brings Me Back

I've had several request for this recipe lately so I figured this would be a good way to deliver it to all at one. Daisy Martinez contributed the original recipe to the September issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. We have made it probably 10 times and have changed it a bit to suit us. She calls it Mexican Chicken Lime Soup, but that just does not tell the truth about this soup. It has some HEAT! Hot Mexican Soup just seems to be more fitting to me. It is soooooo good and there is something very comforting and healing about it. But just a warning-it may not be for the small ones in your family. We haven't tried it out on ours, and even though he likes spicy food, i think this may be the wrong kind of heat for him. But don't be scared off by all of my talk of hotness...I don't like a lot of spicy heat and I LOVE this so I encourage you to give it a try. Ok here is what we use:

Extra-virgin Olive Oil
3 bone in, skin on chicken breast
Salt
Pepper
1 onion finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (this is where the heat comes from. You can find them in the ethnic aisle at your grocery store)
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 2 limes
1 avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise
tortilla chips

First let me talk about the chipotle chiles. The original recipe says, "two canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce." However, the first time I made it I read, "two CANS chipotle chiles in adobo sauce." Tragic mistake that led to inedible soup. So be warned-Don't use TWO CANS! You do have two options as to how you want to use them though. You can take two chiles out of the can, chop them finely and then also take out two Tbsp of sauce and throw all of that in the soup. Or you could just throw the whole can of chiles and sauce in the food processor or blender, make a puree and use two Tbsp of that and keep the rest in the fridge for something later. We do the later.

Here's how ya do it:
Put the chicken breasts in a baking dish, cover them with lots of EVOO, salt, and pepper and bake them at 350 for about 40 minutes. When they are done take the skin off and the meat off the bone and shred the chicken. It will probably need just a tad more cooking.

In the pot you use for your soup, heat about 2 Tbsp of EVOO over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until the onion begins to brown-about 7 minutes or so. Add the shredded chicken and cook a little more. Stir in either your 2 chopped chiles and 2 Tbsp of adobo sauce, OR 2 Tbsp of puree. Then stir in your chicken broth. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro, lime juice and season with salt and pepper.
To serve place several slices of avocado in each bowl and pour in the soup. Top with tortilla chips.

The whole thing will take less effort than it just took to read all of this. Give it a try-if you don't like it bring it to us...we'll eat it.

Recipe Swap Wednesday: Southwestern Sloppy Joes

This is a Weight Watchers recipe and comes along with my weightwatchers.com recommendation! You can find so many fantastic recipes there and it really helps you to learn how to cook and flavor your food with things other than fat.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3/4 lbs lean ground turkey
7 oz can mexicorn, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar, packed

Heat the oil in a large skillet then cook the onion, garlic, and jalapeno until soft (about 4-5 minutes). Add chili powder and oregano and cook about another minute. Add the turkey and corn and cook until the mixture in nearly dry, about 4 minutes. Stir in the salsa and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and the turkey is cooked through (4-5 minutes).
We eat this on Arnold's Sandwich Thins with a little bit of sour cream on them!

Enjoy :)

Recipe Swap Wednesday (we'll see how long this lasts)

I've had a lot of recipes I've wanted to share lately but haven't...so I figured if I set aside Wednesdays to post them, maybe I will be able to keep up with myself...but...we'll see ;) Also, I would love it if you would leave a comment or a link to your blog with your favorite recipes!

This is my 'tweak' from the Neely's Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken. Any time my husband grills chicken breast, I get him to grill a few extra pieces and then I slice them up and toss them with this pasta:
1 lb dried penne
5-6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3 Tbs Olive Oil
3 Tbs parsley, fresh, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the Pasta, drain, set aside

Heat olive oil in a saute pan or dutch oven, add sliced garlic, red bell pepper, and red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant and peppers begin to get a little soft. Add the cooked pasta and chicken to the saute pan or dutch oven and mix it all together. Pour mixture into a serving bowl (or you could leave it in your dutch oven). Pour on the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle the parsley on top (you could definitely use dried if you don't have fresh). Before serving top with Parmesan.
Serves 4-6

Enjoy!

Instant Frozen Yogurt

This may be nothing new to any of you, but I did this completely on accident the other day, and well...I've done it on purpose three more times since. Mac can take down a homemade smoothie, and he has gotten into the habit of asking for one almost every afternoon. "Yummy Fmooie?" he says, meaning, "Can I have a yummy smoothie?" So I stored up some sliced fruit and fresh squeezed orange juice cubes in the freezer for a quick mix with some plain yogurt in the blender. Well you may have known this, but blending frozen fruit with yogurt comes out of the blender as frozen yogurt. Of course this sounds like common sense, I just never thought of it. So give this a try because its a great treat for little ones and big ones alike!
1/3 cup sliced frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen sliced bananas
2 cubes frozen orange juice (I squeeze it fresh and freeze it in ice cube trays.)
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I use low fat, but whatever you like)
A touch of honey for sweetness

Blend it all up and there you go! It makes two large servings that are hardly any calories and good for you to boot!
You could make this with any frozen fruit you like. My next try is going to be some frozen pineapple chunks with some frozen cubes of coconut milk. If you know some reason why this would not work, let me know...otherwise, I'll let you know how it goes!

Slow Cookin' Goodness

Don't know about you, but I love using my crock pot. It just does the trick, and if you haven't gathered, my favorite kind of meals to eat and make are the kind where everything is all mixed together in one pot or bowl of goodness. Here are two of my favorite one pot, slow-cooking recipes I have found of late...

Slow Cooker Lasagna
1 lb uncooked lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
28 oz can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (fire-roasted are sometimes hard to find, so plain will d0)
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you like the heat)
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
Parsley (fresh or dried)
1 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
6 dry lasagna noodles, no-cook
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, (Romano is good)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Mix in parsley (just eyeball it)
Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture into a 5-quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with half ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.
Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 4-6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste if desired.
In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside until cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes. Yields 1/6th of dish per serving.

Cuban-Style Pork and Sweet Potato Stew

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice (about 1 lb)
1 pound lean pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, with green chilies
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup orange juice
2 medium scallions, chopped (green parts only)
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Place potato, pork, tomatoes, garlic, orange juice, scallions, salt, cumin, and pepper in a 4 to 5 quart slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 7 hours
Stir in lime juice and cilantro; cover slow cooker and cook for 5 minutes more. (I like to throw in a little Louisiana hot sauce here as well...but be careful- it brings the heat!)
Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

Successes in the Kitchen

If you know me well, you know that as much as I love to cook, I'm not always great at it. Baking I can do-always have been able to, and always loved it. Regular ole week night meals on the other hand-hit or miss. But I'm getting better! The problem is I always thought cooking was boring until sometime late in college, and then it was up to the Food Network to teach me everything I needed to know. Fortunately my husband is a fantastic cook so he has provided us with many restaurant worthy meals, and also taught me a lot about cooking. So its taken a lot of time to get here and now my successful meals are certainly a celebration, and I've been celebrating a lot lately! So I thought I'd share some of the better meals I have made over the past couple of weeks. I promise not to post any that are not also husband approved (and husband has high expectations of food!)

Cuban Black Beans and Rice
8 servings
-2 cups uncooked white rice
-2 Tbs olive oil
-2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
-1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
-1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
-1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
-6 cloves of garlic minced
-2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, drained
-4 Tbs sherry cooking wine
-2 tsp ground cumin
-2 tsp ground coriander
-2 tsp dried oregano
-2 tsp hot pepper sauce (I use Louisiana)
-4 15.5 ounce cans black beans, drained
-black pepper

1. Cook rice according to package directions (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the PAMPERED CHEF RICE COOKER . It is in my top 5 kitchen essentials!)
2. Heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the onion, bell peppers, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, vinegar, cumin, coriander, oregano, and pepper sauce; cook 2 minutes. Add the beans, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with the pepper and serve with rice. Top with a little sour cream. (A serving is about 1 cup beans of 1/2 cup of rice)

Turkey Taco Soup
-a bit of Olive Oil
-2 lbs Extra Lean ground turkey (I promise you can not tell the difference between this and regular ole ground beef in this soup)
-1 onion, chopped
-A couple of cloves of garlic minced
-1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
-1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
-1 can each of:
white corn
yellow corn
pinto beans
red kidney beans (new orleans style are best if you can find them)
-rotel tomatoes
-1 small can of tomato sauce, when empty filled with water.

1. Heat olive oil and stir in onions and garlic. Add the ground turkey and cook through.
2. Add all other ingredients, stir and simmer for 30 minutes.

Easy as pie! Serve with some Mexican blend cheese, sour cream, and maybe fritos.