Thursday, March 31, 2011

Why-the-Chicken-Crossed-the-Road Santa Fe-Tastic Tortilla Soup

Yes, that is the actual name of the dinner that I made tonight. Isn't it awful?!?  I can't believe that someone in development at Food Network didn't sit down with Rachael Ray and tell her that the name is ridiculous, but I guess sometimes these things get though.  Maybe the recipe development guy was on vacation that week. You just have to forgive the name and try not to judge.

I, for one, have been excited about dinner tonight since I woke up this morning.  I recognize that this makes me a serious loser, but I'm ok with it.  The backstory on dinner tonight is that after Steve and I emerged from the darkest depths of the stomach flu, we both really wanted tortilla soup. Weird, right? Except for the cheese and tortilla chips, I had just about nothing for this recipe in the house, but Steve gave me permission (I let him think this) to depart from the pantry raid for a brief moment to savor the deliciousness that is tortilla soup. It is worth every.last.cent.

Here's the recipe.  You can read the recipe if you want, but I'm going to give you my changes. What you may lose in flavor is made up in convenience. I am far too busy to be roasting red peppers and scraping corn off the cob, so I changed some stuff.  You'll thank me.

Here's my version:

Ingredients: (Don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients, it is SO WORTH IT!)
  • Olive oil

  • 1 can of corn

  • 2 red bell peppers, diced

  • 1.5 pounds chicken breast tenders

  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full

  • 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/3 palm full

  • Salt and pepper

  • 2 small to medium zucchinis diced

  • 1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped

  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped

  • 1 to 2 chipotle in adobo peppers (medium to hot heat level), chopped -- available in small cans in Mexican and Spanish food section of market - I usually add 2 but we like it spicy. It's your call.

  • 1 can stewed tomatoes, 28 ounces (I usually have to buy 2 smaller cans, but it's the same difference), chopped

  • 1 can tomato sauce, 8 ounces

  • 1 box (4 cups) chicken stock, available in re-sealable paper containers on soup aisle

  • tortilla chips

  • taco or cheddar cheese


  • Here's what you do:

    Dice chicken. Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot soup pot. Add chicken to pot. Season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown chicken on each side. Add red peppers, zucchini, onions and garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook vegetables with chicken 7 to 10 minutes to soften. Add chopped stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Add the canned corn. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat to medium low. The longer the soup simmers, the better it will be, but you can eat it right away. I usually let it cook for 10-15 minutes.Ladle the soup into bowls and top it with crushed tortilla chips and some taco cheese.  Enjoy! 

    This is what it looks like, but this is Rachael Ray's picture and not mine, and we don't usually put the sour cream and avocado on the soup, but you'll get the idea:

    Picture of Why-the-Chicken-Crossed-the-Road Santa Fe-Tastic Tortilla Soup Recipe

    We seriously crave this meal and eat it once every 2 weeks or so.  Plus, since it's really just a kicked up chicken vegetable soup, it's really healthy, especially if you omit the toppings like the cheese and sour cream.  If I remember correctly, it's 5 or 6 points on Weight Watchers and that's if you include the chips & cheese.  It's like 3 points without that stuff.  I know this because I ate it all the time when I was losing the baby weight from both kids. 

    So there you go.  I am a loser and get excited about soup.  But you will too once you try it!

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