Chicken Tortilla Soup

This one is super easy, delisous, different and kinda fun for dinner....Yes, fun. The variety of toppings allows people to control the heat and amount of cheese per serving. A kid friendly recipe if they dont like the spice, likely the lucky 11 year old I often cook for likes it hot.

The toppings work very well together to cool and freshen up the soup. The avocado seems odd but works it compliments the crunchy chips and onions.

There is a complex option and a simple option, both yummy but one can be done in 30 mins and one takes a little longer with more ingredients.
Option 1: Easy and Quick

• 1 can Mild or Medium Enchelada Sauce
• 2 quarts Low sodium chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Option 2: A few extra mins and things

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium white onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
• 4 ripe medium tomatoes, seeds removed, chopped small (canned works here)
• 2 quart chicken stock
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Ladle the hot soup into soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each. Let people add their own toppings in each bowl, thats the fun part.

Toppings:

• 8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips, fried or baked till crisp
• 2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
• 1 cup shredded Jack cheese or queso fresco
• 2 Diced jalapenos, seads removed unless you like extra spice
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• Green onion, diced green section
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, this can but half parsley/half cilantro for the cilantro haters like me

Roasted Chicken Dinner 1/25

Sunday dinner is one of my favorite meals to cook...obviously (name of the blog). Today is dinner w/the lovely condo ladies, my frequent dinner companions. I've made butterflied roast chicken for friends before and it was a huge hit. Its easy, cheap and delish.
I'm not one for measuring so here's the list of ingredients, steps and some pics:

• 2 butterflied chickens: the stop and shop butcher will do this for you, i recommend keeping the bone in as this adds great flavor and the carcass makes great stock.
• carrots
• celery
• garlic
• onion
• sage/rosemary/thyme...you can throw in parsley to complete the song
• 2 sliced lemons
• S&P
• Adobo (put it on everything)
• olive oil
• dried oregano

Layer the veggies, herbs, lemon, and garlic in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with S&P and Adobo.
Pat the chickens dry and rub with oil, oregano, S&P. Put sage leaves under the skin in the breast, I use a spoon to push it around and make sure it goes back to the thigh meat.
Lay birds on the veggie bed, skin side up.
Roast 450 for 15 mins, then cover and reduce to 350 for about 40 mins, or until meat thermometer reads 165. Last 10 mins under the broiler make for perfect skin, but you HAVE to keep an eye on it.
Transfer chickens and veggies to a platter or cutting board, it will be juicy so be careful that it doesn't drip all over your counter.
The pan juices will make an awesome gravy! Drain most of the fat from the pan, then put it over 2 burners and bring to a boil. Add a few splashes of white wine (preferable the one you are serving with dinner) let it simmer for a few mins. For thickener, I'm a big fan of the butter/flour combo....combine 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp flour in a little bowl and mash it with a fork and add to the pan.
Sides should definitely include some kind of yummy starch to soak up that awesome sauce. Wild rice with dried fruit and nuts (recipe will post some other day). Roasted brussel sprouts were a great combo for your green veg. Don't forget to serve the carrots, they are a bit soggy for my taste but everyone ate them like they were candy.