Chicken Tortilla Soup...... a new FAVORITE!

I was definitely on the fence about Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I didn't hate it - I just wasn't sure that I liked it enough to make it.

Well....... I have followed Carlsbad Cravings for several years, and all of her recipes are always fabulous.  And Carlsbad (the city) is literally next door to where I live - just 5 minutes away.  So......
I am a fan for many reasons.  I knew she would not steer any of us wrong on this recipe , and I was SO VERY RIGHT!

You need to make this  -- and you need to make it soon.  You will not be sorry!!

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP  

adapted from Carlsbad Cravings

2 T. olive oil
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
1 medium onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped (I LOVE these peppers - so good and not too hot)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tsp. each:  chili powder, ground cumin, chicken bouillon or broth powder
1/2 t. each:  smoked paprika, oregano, salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 small (4 oz.) can mild green chilies
2 - 15 oz. cans fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 - 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bag Trader Joe's frozen fire roasted corn (i can of sweet corn can be used, but this is SO much better)
1 - 10 oz. can mild enchilada sauce
6 c. low sodium chicken broth

In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add chopped onion and saute for about 3 minutes.  Add bell pepper and poblano pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add garlic and saute briefly.

Add all remaining soup ingredients (except the lime juice and cilantro).  Cover soup and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium low or low heat.  Simmer 20-25 minutes or just until the chicken is tender (check for temp of 165 to be sure).  Remove the chicken from the pot and let rest about 5 minutes.  Carefully shred the chicken (be careful - it will be hot!)

Add chicken back to pot along iwth the lime juice and cilantro.  Taste and season with additional salt and live to taste.  Stir in additional chicken broth if you want a less chunky soup. (I like it chunky!)

Top individual servings with baked tortilla strips (below) and garnish with cubed avocado, shredded Cheddar cheese, additional chopped cilantro (and anything else you like).

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To add later:
1 T. lime juice (and extra lime slices for serving)
1/3 c. chopped cilantro

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Homemade Tortilla Strips:
8 - 6 inch corn tortillas
1 T. vegetable or canola oil
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425 for the tortilla strips.

Cut tortillas into 1/2 inch strips.  Using a pizza cutter can make it easy to create the strips.  A few can be stacked at a time and cut to make it easier.

Line a half sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper and .  Toss the strips with 1 T. oil and spread over the pan, making sure to arrange the strips in a single layer.  Grind pink Himalayan salt over the top.  Bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven until light golden brown. Set aside to cool and crisp.

This soup is delicious - REALLY scrumptions!  I served this to my neighbors who love tortilla soup and they said it was the best they had EVER tasted - and they have tasted many!  Needless to say, that made me one happy girl.

The added bonus was that this soup was super easy to make.  I will definitely be making this more often!

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Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup -

I combined two recipes and also changed a few things...... it was delicious!

This recipe caught my eye a few months ago and I continued to see other food bloggers coming up with variations.  I had never had gnocchi (*gasp* - I know) so I wanted to try that, but also wanted to wait for a cold "soup" day.  I love soup, but when I make it, I want the weather to at least be in the low 60s (yes I know - that is spring weather for some of you - but in southern California, that is our winter weather - 50s and 60s).  I am not complaining, and I really love it when it gets cold aka "California cold"!!

We have had a cool March, so I have been making soup a lot which makes me a happy gal.  This is a delicious recipe that I am happy to share - and there are more to come. (homemade pasta next!)

CREAMY CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP

adapted from Simply Scratch and Cooking Classy

16 oz. mini potato gnocchi (you can use regular - I just like the size of the mini)

4 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2-3/4 c. chopped onion

1/2 -2 c. sliced baby carrots (I used about 12-15 baby carrots as I always have those on hand)

3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 c. sliced mushrooms (optional - I love the flavor they add)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. fresh chopped thyme

1 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary

1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

6 Tbsp. flour

4 c. (1 quart) half and half

4 c. chicken broth  *See Note Below

2 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped

2 chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded (poach and reserve the water - perfect broth!)

1-2 tsp. salt to taste

1/2 tsp, ground pepper to taste

grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi 3-4 minutes.  The gnocchi will float to the top as they are done. Take them out with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment lined baking pan and set aside.  Try to separate them so they don't stick together.

These are mini gnocchi but they worked really well in this recipe.

In a Dutch oven, melt the butter and add the olive oil. .  Add the onion, carrots, celery and cook, stirring occasionally until tender..  Then add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and mushrooms and cook gently for 1-2 minutes. (the mushrooms will finish cooking in the soup).

Stir in the flour, mix well and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Continue to stir while pouring in the half and half.   Then add the grated nutmeg.

Increase the heat to simmer, stirring until thick.  Then pour in the chicken broth and heat until the soup has thickened slightly, stirring occasionally.

Add the chopped spinach, shredded chicken, cooked gnocchi and salt and pepper.  Cover and cook until the spinach has wilted.

Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

*Measure the reserved liquid from poaching the chicken.  If not 4 cups, add enough water to measure 4 c. and add 1 tsp per cup of powdered instant chicken broth or 1 chicken bouillon cube per cup water).

Enjoy!

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Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have been enjoying learning about my "new" Instant Pot and I just have to say....... I LOVE IT!!  It is a combination slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, and it makes a dozen other things effortlessly.  I have even made macaroni and cheese in this using pressure settings and I didnt think it was possible to cook pasta in the pressure cooker - but my youngest son said it was the BEST mac and cheese he has ever had.  I will need to recreate that for the blog.  It was definitely worth a repeat performance!

Making soup is an effortless way to get comfortable using a pressure cooker and it tastes like you have slaved over the stove all day.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP - in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker)

adapted from Flavorrd.com

2 Tbsp. olive oil (I used garlic olive oil)
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minces
2 - 6 inch corn tortillas, cut into small squares (about an inch)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 - 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. frozen corn
4 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
3 chicken breasts (roughly a pound total)

Garnish Ideas:
chopped cilantro
shredded cheddar cheese or your favorite cheese
fried corn tortilla strips
diced avocado
sour cream, if desired

Set Instant Pot to saute, medium heat. Add the olive oil  and onion and cook, stirring until softened. Then add the garlic, cilantro and tortilla squares.. Stir to combine and cook for a minute longer before adding the tomato, black beans, corn, broth, seasonings and chicken breasts.  Cancel saute mode and cover Instant Pot, seal, select Soup mode, and manually adjust time to 4 minutes.

It will take about 10 minutes for the pot to reach pressure and then teh 4 minutes will count down.  While the pot is preparing to pressure cook, heat a little oil in a skillet and fry tortilla strips until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.  Lightly salt the strips immediately after frying.  There should be plenty of time to grate the cheese, chop the cilantro and slice lime wedges for serving.

Corn tortilla strips frying...

Fresh cilantro (oops - not sure why that paper towel is purple!)

Pressure cooked chicken =  Perfection!

After the timer goes off, manually release the pressure, being careful of the steam.  Remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat.  Return the shredded chicken to the pot and stir to combine.  Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with tortilla strips, cheese and cilantro.    This makes a delicious dinner.

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Minestrone Soup

it has actually been cold here in southern CA.  Yes it's all relative, but 32 degrees in the morning (yes that was the temp this morning) is truly COLD for us! BRRRRRRR). The saving grace is that  it does warm up to the 60s this time of year. And we can get crazy heat waves - like the 80 degrees forecast for early next week.  I don't like it when it gets that warm in the winter, especially during the holidays.  I want this time of year to feel brisk outside and I want to wear a jacket when I go outside.  I want to make a fireplace and curl up on the couch with the dogs. I love this time of year when I can settle down with a hot bowl of soup and be totally content.  It doesn't take much!

This recipe is a definite winter comfort food, made even better because the Ninja Cooking System did all of the hard work!

There were quite a few fresh herbs in this recipe so rather than hand chop, I used one of my favorite kitchen tools - the Kuhn Rikon Pull and Chop.  The two blades inside are VERY sharp (yes I found out the hard way!) and they easily mince herbs that are not always simple manage.  You can see how the herbs went from garden fresh to recipe ready.

Straight from my garden

 Ready for chopping

Mission accomplished - perfection!

MINESTRONE SOUP

Adapted from Cooking Classy

4 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups water

1 cup red wine (optional)

1 (15 oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes

3 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1 yellow squash, chopped

1 1/3 cups pasta (ditalini, shell, orecchiette - I used the latter)

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 (15 oz.) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz.)  cannelini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz.) can cut green beans, drained

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

I Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil

1 tsp. fresh lemon thyme leaves
2 tsp. fresh chopped oregano

1 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. sugar

salt and pepper, to taste
shredded parmesan cheese to garnish or Sargento Italian cheese mix

Add stock, water, wine, tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves and sugar to the crock pot/slow cooker.  I used my Ninja Cooking System and it was perfect. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook on low for about 7 hours.

When the vegetables are softened after the 7 hours, add the zucchini, yellow squash, pasta, garlic, kidney and cannelini beans and cook on high 30-40 minutes or until the pasta is done.  Add the chopped spinach and green beans and cook a few more minutes until heated through.  Serve warm topped with the Sargento Italian cheese mixture or Parmesan cheese.

Another look at the minced herbs and all of the yummy ingredients ready to become soup.

So satisfying and soooooooooooo good!

And since I had chopped extra rosemary, I decided to do a bit more and make a delicious loaf of garlic rosemary bread to go with the soup.  The aroma from this baking bread will have you swooning!

Stay tuned for that recipe to come soon!

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Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

All I seem to want to do lately is make soup.  When it's chilly and /or rainy, it is the one thing I feel that I could eat almost every night.  It fills me up and warms me from head to toe.  It's the perfect food no matter what ingredients are blended together.

In the recipe below, I used regular cheese tortellini because that is all I could find. I do think the mini tortellini would have been more appetizing and easier to eat.

And I decided that you probably don't need to see pictures of the ingredients anymore, so I won't bore you with those unless there is something unusual that I feel you absolutely need to see!! :)  I hope that makes the sharing a little easier.

I am also trying to get in my crafting mode again . The mojo just has not been there, but I am making a concerted effort the next few days to create some cards. Tis the season to get in the card making mood no matter what the occasion! So stay tuned for cards to come.... I hope! In the meantime, enjoy some great tasting, tummy satisfying soup!

CREAMY TOMATO TORTELLINI SOUP

Loosely adapted from Creamy Tomato Orzo Soup/ Two Peas and Their Pod

1 T. garlic olive oil
1/2 c. chopped shallots (2 medium sized)
3 cloves garlic , minced
2 bay leaves
1 - 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (I love to used the petite cut)
6 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
2 tsp. Borsari seasoning (King Arthur)
1 pkg. fresh cheese tortellini, cooked and drained
8 oz. plain Greek yogurt (I like Yoskos)
shaved Parmesan cheese
chopped fresh chives for garnish, optional

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the shallots and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the bay leaves.

Add the canned tomatoes and chopped Roma tomatoes.  Add the fresh basil and Borsari (or salt and pepper to taste) and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the fresh tomatoes have softened.

Ingredients simmering before the yogurt and blending...

Remove the bay leaves.  Either blend the soup with an immersion blender or pour into a blender and puree.  I used an immersion blender and left a few chunks of tomato for the texture.  Stir in the tortellini to heat and fold in the Greek yogurt.

This WAS blended but I left some chunks on purpose because I like the texture...

Sprinkle with chopped chives and enjoy. Very filling and healthy too!

I served with Special K multigrain crackers. They are very low calorie and filling as well!

The finished product in better lighting!

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Fabulous Tomato Soup!

My oldest son, Scott, is a fabulous cook.  He and his wife live about an hour away, so I love it when he comes down and cooks for us!!  It's not only a night out of the kitchen, but a chance to eat some delicious food.

Not that long ago he treated me to some of his tomato gorgonzola soup.  Since I am a cheese junkie, that just sounded like pure heaven - and trust me - it was!!!

His recipe is very simple but it is sheer rich, savory goodness. And the star of the recipe is fresh roma tomatoes!!  You chop them up, add some canned tomatoes, seasonings, half and half or evaporated milk, blend it up and then you add as much gorgonzola cheese as your taste buds will allow.  Trust me- you will never EVER eat canned tomato soup again. This is SO easy and SO good (but I have to admit it's better when Scott makes it!)

I was craving a grilled cheese sandwich while this was simmering.  The pairing of the grilled cheese and the soup just transports me back to childhood.  But I was tired and just didn't feel like going to the work (can you spell l-a-z-y??!!??)  Then I remembered I had some of those big biscuits in a can that really needed to be used, so I made baked cheese biscuits.  They were really good fresh out of the oven.  Not sure they were as good as a steamy buttery grilled cheese, but they tasted great at the time!  It was an easy dinner  and the soup and biscuits were enjoyed for many nights!

Scott's Fabulous Tomato Soup

  6-8 Roma tomatoes

·        2 cans of stewed tomatoes (Preferably with Italian seasoning)

·        2 small cans of tomato paste

·        Salt, pepper, additional Italian seasonings to taste

·        Garlic, if you feel like it 

·        Blue cheese or gorgonzola

·        Small container of heavy whipping cream

In a large pot heat up the three different tomatoes and seasoning. Once the fresh romas start to break down and get real soft, use the emulsion blender to pulse it all together into whatever consistency you prefer. Taste the soup at this point to make sure the seasoning is correct. Add seasoning as needed.

Add in heavy cream (probably about half to two-thirds) and a good handful or two of the cheese and stir in with a spoon. Once the cheese is melted, serve with one more small pinch of cheese on top.

Enjoy!!!

**  Really Scott?  How can you  NOT feel like garlic? It makes everything better!!

***  I have substituted the heavy cream using fat free evaporated milk or fat free half and half with equally excellent results.  I think the FF half and half is my favorite.

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