So, I’m sitting here eating a handful of no-name Cheetos, (isn’t that what everyone one does at 7:30am while blogging) trying to figure out how to tell you just how much I loathe chopping.
I loathe chopping so much that I try to avoid recipes that involve said chore, unless the chefboy is home and in desperate need of practicing knife skills.
Hurray for chefboys who must practice knife skills.
And when I’m finished with him in the kitchen, he looks pretty much like this, but he owes me because that is what I looked like for the first 2 years of his life.
The boy didn’t sleep through the night till he was almost a year old.
Why did I work the boy so hard?
So I could make this weeks BB recipe that Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats picked out.
It is called Mexican Chicken Soup, and it is gooooood!
This recipe calls for roasting 4 whole chicken breasts with the bone in, but as we all know, this girl is a slacker.
So, I slapped 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (’cause we all know that dark meat is more flavorful) on my pan and called it good.
It also called for blech, gag, yucky, phooie celery.
I made the wise decision to substitute green pepper for this veggie. Green pepper screams Mexican so much more that celery, don’cha know.
So do the jalapeno peppers and fresh cilantro that I left out.
I also ground my own cumin. I heart cumin, and nothing is better than freshly ground.
This soup goes together quickly.
We topped it with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips.
I didn’t get a picture of it, because I had company, and we were hungry.
Make this soup. Not only is it good, but it will warm you up on a cold day.
And score! it’s kinda healthy too.
Mexican Chicken Soup
Ingredients
nocoupons
- 4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on~~or you can be a slacker like me, and use boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Good olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
- 1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)~~gag! substitute green pepper
- 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
- 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade~~slacker girl used chicken soup base
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
- 2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced~~can’t handle the heat in my dotage
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional~~optional…see! It’s optional!
- 6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas
Directions
For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.
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