Spicy Tortilla Soup

I don't know about you, but I love my tortilla soup red in color and spicy! It seems like most restaurants have this soup on their menus and I've tried my fair share. The more veggies the better! And I prefer shredded chicken or chicken chunks. Also, the garnishes really do make it complete! So do NOT forget them! This recipe is so easy. For one, the chicken is cooked in a crock pot. So, you can go run errands and come back later to finish it up. Cooking chicken in a crock pot creates the most flavorful, tender chicken in the world! Anyway enough with the blabbering... Get going! 

1/2 diced yellow onion

1 cup diced celery

1 cup shredded carrots 

1 can of 4 oz green chili peppers

1/2 cup corn

1 can of diced tomatoes 

3 chicken breast

Packet of taco seasoning

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon red hot sauce 

4 oz tomato paste 

(2) 32 oz chicken broth 

Garnish:

Lime

Sour cream 

Cilantro

Tortilla chips 

Place chicken breasts in crock pot, covered with taco seasoning and topped with chicken broth. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. 

Remove from crock pot and shred with a fork. The chicken should be so tender it will just fall apart. 

Sauté onion, celery, carrots, and green peppers in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot until tender.

Add 32 oz chicken broth, corn, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and shredded chicken. 

Mix in cumin and red hour sauce. Bring to a simmer. 

Serve with all the garnishes. 

Enjoy! 

Tomato Basil Soup

Another favorite soup of mine is tomato basil soup. I have tasted SO many different variations of this soup and I've finally come up with my favorite concoction. I love mine with carrots, balsamic vinegar and heavy cream. If you don't like vinegar you can leave it out of course. Not all recipes use these ingredients. Also my soup is not super smooth, it has some texture to it. Which I like because it makes scooping your bread or grilled cheese extra good. Alright are you ready? 

Ingredients:

2 can of 28oz peeled Roma tomatoes 

6 T olive oil

2 T balsamic vinegar (optional) 

1 T sugar

1 onion

3-4 large carrots shredded 

2 teaspoon minced garlic 

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

Salt & Pepper to taste

Fresh diced basil to taste

Preheat oven to 375

In a baking dish place tomatoes with juice, balsamic vinegar, 2 T olive oil and sugar. Stir, bake for 30 minutes till caramelized. 

In a large stock pot sauté diced onion and garlic in remaining 4 T olive oil. About 10 minutes. Add carrots for about 5 more minutes. Set aside to cool. 

Optional: blend onion mix in food processor or leave for bigger chunks. 

Remove tomatoes from oven and blend in blender with juices till puréed.

Add broth and stir. Bring to boil. 

Lastly add cream and basil. 

Serve sprinkled with S & P

Caramel Corn

Homemade caramel corn tastes so much better than store bought. This October I wanted to make a batch to share with my friends. It is a perfect Halloween treat! 

1 cup butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 bags of popped popcorn (unbuttered is best) 

Preheat oven at 250

Line 2 baking dishes with parchment paper then fill with the popcorn

In a sauce pan melt butter and mix brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. 

Remove from heat and add baking soda. It will get fluffy and lighter in color.

Add vanilla

Pour over popcorn and stir. It's fine if not all is covered in caramel at this point. 

Bake for 1 hour, but every 15 minutes remove from over and mix. Each time u remove and mix more and more caramel will cover the popcorn.

When finished, pour out onto counter covered with parchment paper, spread and let cool before packaging. 

Now enjoy because its the bomb!!!

NOTE: you can drizzle with chocolate once on counter top too. Or add peanuts. Experiment to make your perfect treat.  

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

I usually like to use the "lite" version of Alfredo that comes in the jar. But sometimes you wanna splurge and eat the homemade good stuff. It's very easy too! 

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 pint heavy cream 

4 oz cream cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste 

Dash of chili powder (optional)

Dash of crushed red pepper flakes (optional) 

In sauce pan, melt butter and sauté garlic for about 2 minutes

Add cream and cream cheese, bring to a simmer for about 6 minutes 

Add Parmesan cheese

Remove from heat and sprinkle with seasonings

This sauce goes well with any pasta dish. Chicken or shrimp. 

I ate it with shells and steamed broccoli tonight. It's was delicious!!! 

Baked Chimichangas

Yummmmm I love these!! Chimichangas are one of my favorite Mexican dishes. But it's deep fried and soooo not good for you! This recipe is baked, but still crispy. You can make it even less calories by the choice of tortillas and cheese you buy. So read your labels. 

1/2 lb ground turkey

1/2-3/4 diced yellow onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoon diced green chilies 

8 oz tomato sauce

1/2 cheddar cheese

4-5 tortillas

1 tablespoon melted butter

Sour cream (optional) 

Preheat oven to 400

Cook turkey, onion, garlic and seasoning on the stove top for about 6 minutes

Add green chilies and tomato sauce, bring to a boil and cook about 4 more minutes

Add cheese to mix now or sprinkle it on top after chimichangas come out of the oven

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray, scoop meat mixture into tortillas and roll up

Spread with butter and bake for 20 minutes

Serve with a scoop of sour cream 

NOTE: I used the soft and thick Mission Homestyle flour tortillas. Thinner tortillas will break and crack easier when you are rolling them up. 

Caprese Pizza

So I'm finally feeling well enough to get my butt back in the kitchen. I'm starting off with something that is easier than dirt! Obviously I would love to post about homemade pizza dough and pizza sauce, but that will have to come some other day. This is made out of the Pilsbury wheat artisan pizza dough. You can put any toppings you want on this pizza dough; peppers, olives, pineapples. Whatever you like. I went with a basic caprese style. 

Pilsbury pizza dough

1/2 cup pizza sauce

Sliced basil 

Mozzarella 

2 sliced Roma tomatoes 

1 cup balsamic vinegar. 

Preheat over to 400.

Bake pizza dough for 8 minutes.

Place toppings on pizza.

Bake additional 6-7 minutes. 

Drizzle with balsamic reduction. 

To make a balsamic reduction, boil 1 cup balsamic vinegar on medium-high, stirring constantly until thickens into a syrup. Takes about 15-20 minutes. It will thicken even more after you remove it from the heat. 

Sea-Salted Caramels

It's not October yet, but it is officially fall. This puts me in the holiday mood to make homemade candies and fall treats. What could scream "fall" more then caramel? Caramel apples, caramel apple cider, or a chewy, melt in your mouth, buttery, salted caramel? Not much people! Some can be intimidated by homemade candy because you need a candy thermometer. But it's really not that scary. I bought mine at William Sonoma for around $20 and its digital so I love it. You clip it to the pan and it reads you the temp. Once your candy reaches the correct temperature, it's done. This recipe is from "San Francisco's most charming pastry shop" called Miette. If you ever go to San Fran, this adorable shop is on Octavia Street & Hayes Street. Please go there!! 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/4 cups whole milk

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup light corn syrup

3 tablespoons water

Place a buttered parchment paper in a glass or metal pan. Parchment paper should hand over the sides to be used as handles once caramel is cool. 

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and whisk together. Clip the candy thermometer to the side and place on medium heat. Whisking constantly so sugar doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan. Once candy is 246 degrees F or 115-118 degrees C it is done. It will be very bubbly and fluffy. Will take 30-40 minutes. 

Remove from heat and pour into pan. Scrapping saucepan with spatula. Let cool for 15 minutes and sprinkle with a little more sea salt. Place in fridge for around 30 minutes to make cutting the caramels easier. 

Pull out of pan and cut into pieces. Wrap with parchment paper and share with friends :) 

It will get darker the hotter it gets! 

NOTE: I made a 1/2 batch for my first round. They are amazing! You can drop a piece into cider for flavor or if you want dip an apple. Give it a go! Have fun!