Chicken Tortilla Soup

So I wanted to start the soup posts with one that is very popular with most crowds. Chicken Tortilla soup is a great mix between Mexican flavors with American influences. Here's how I did it:

Serves: 4

So there are 3 parts to this recipe.

Part 1: Cook the chicken
1 lb     Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 T  Olive oil
1 T     Garlic powder
1 T     Fajita seasoning
1/2 T  Seasoning salt
The juice of half a lemon
The juice of half a lime

Season the chicken with the spices and squeeze the citrus juice and olive oil over the top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, move on to part 2.

Part 2: Start the soup
1 T       Olive Oil
1          Medium onion, chopped
1          Medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 T       Jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 tsp    Black pepper
2 tsp    Crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups  Chicken stock (Divided)
2 cans  Fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 T       Cumin
1 tsp     Seasoning salt
1 T       Fajita seasoning
1/2 can Sweet whole kernel corn
1/2 can Black beans

Heat a large pot to medium high heat. When heated, add the olive oil, onion, bell pepper, black pepper and jalapeno peppers and cook until soft. About 10 minutes.

Add 1 cup of chicken stock and both cans of diced tomatoes. Add the remaining seasonings. Stir and cook for 20 minutes.

When the chicken has finished baking, shred with 2 forks and set aside.

After the pot has been cooking for the additional 20 minutes, the mixture should have thickened. Add the rest of the chicken stock, chicken, corn, and black beans and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes.

Part 3: Make the Tortilla Strips
2      Small round flour tortillas
2 T   Olive Oil
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Sea salt

Heat a medium skillet with the olive oil.

Cut the tortillas into thin strips.

When the pan is heated, add the tortilla strips (a few at a time) and fry, turning once. About 20 seconds per side, until golden.

Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with paprika and salt.



Serve the tortilla strips on top of the soup and enjoy :)

New Year. New You.

So every year we all think up a great resolution that will improve our lives and get up closer to an ultimate goal. Most of us look into being more physically fit but fail to realize that we need to ensure we are eating the right amount of calories to reach that goal. The majority of us hate counting calories, myself included, but having a general idea is a great way to start your path to a new you if you desire a better body image. You can get that general idea by taking maybe 15 minutes out of your spare time to do an online assessment of where you are, where you want to be, and how much or little you need to eat to get there. From there try to watch what you eat as best you can and cook more so you can control the calories that we hate to count. It does get easier though especially once you generally know how many calories are in certain key foods you always eat.

I challenge everyone to stick to their goals this year longer than you stuck to your last year's goal. My goal is to become a person who loves to workout and another goal is to keep up with this blog. The ironic thing is, working out has thus far proven to be the easier of my two goals. I am working on gathering some creativity that I have lost over time to make this blog an exciting and interesting read for all.

This week, and for the remainder of January, I will focus on my cookbook and blog. More specifically, I am trying to go section by section picking and choosing recipes and then testing them out to finalize them.

So far in my "Soup, Stews, and the Like" Section of my future cookbook I have:

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Classic Chicken Noodle
Chili
Cheesy Potato
Beef Stew
Gumbo
Clam Chowder
Veggie Soup
Miso Soup
French Onion Soup
Mushroom Soup
Spicy Thai Soup
Lobster Bisque
She Crab Soup

I will probably be adding to and taking from this recipe title list as I determine the direction I want to go as far as food point of view. I think I will try to experiment with chicken and soup this week since I just bought chicken breasts. I will post the results.  :)

Happy Eating and don't forget to try and stick to your goals this year no matter how hard. We can do it!!