Thursday, 2/24/2011

We enjoyed more Smoky Chicken Tortilla Soup, minus the tortillas, for dinner tonight.  I spooned some of the soup broth over the top of rice for Katie's dinner.  She also ate some cheddar cheese.  

Katie loves to eat fruit, but it wreaks havoc on her poor little bottom.  Since she's had too much fruit in the last couple of days, she had to stick to a plain, boring meal of rice and cheese for dinner.  In other news, here's a photo of her outside in our front yard this morning next to the snowman we made.  What fun!  

Wednesday, 2/23/2011

All day long we have been expecting snow.  And, all day long, each time I checked the weather forecast, the snow was expected to arrive two hours later than the last time I checked.  Even without snow, it is cold.  So, we enjoyed hearty bowls of Smoky Chicken Tortilla Soup, minus the tortillas for dinner.  Don't get me wrong, I love the tortillas in this soup.  The problem is that you can't buy a small bag of tortilla chips.  You are required to buy a bag big enough to feed a family for a week, and I end up eating all the extras.  In an effort to curb my unnecessary chip crunching, we did without the chips in our soup.  The soup was fine without them. 

Saturday, 2/19/2011

Crock Pots, our church potluck group, met at our house tonight.  We had eight adults, two babysitters, and five kids.  The kids spent time in our room watching Mary Poppins or downstairs playing with toys.  I think they all gathered with us when it was time to serve dessert.  I made a green salad and a pot of Chili Mac and Cheddar Soup, from Sunset magazine, for our contribution to the meal.  I've increased the amounts of ground beef, chili powder, and cumin from the original recipe.  Also, the salt and hot sauce were new additions to the recipe.  It was all gone by the end of the night to glowing reviews:)  Here's the recipe.

CHILI MAC 'N' CHEDDAR SOUP

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 lb lean ground beef
4 tablespoons hot Mexican chili powder
6 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups milk
1 can (14 1/2-ounce) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (10 3/4-ounce) condensed cheddar-cheese soup
1 1/2 cup uncooked elbow pasta
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Hot sauce to taste

Diced tomato, for garnish
Tortilla chips, for garnish
Minced jalapeño chile, for garnish

Directions:
1.  Heat oil in a 5-quart soup pot over medium-high heat; add onion and sauté 4 minutes, until translucent. Crumble beef into pot and cook, stirring for 4 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
2.  Add milk and broth, then stir in condensed soup until dissolved; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in pasta; continue to cook, covered, 5 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes or until pasta is fully cooked.
3.  Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with diced tomato, tortilla chips, and minced chile.

The rest of the group brought a potato casserole, corn bread, and a fruit salad for dinner.  And, for dessert, we had ice cream and oreo sundaes.  Good friends, good conversation, plenty of laughter, and great food.  Who could ask for a better Saturday night? :)  

Friday, 9/24/2010

My mother-in-law drove up from Portland this afternoon in order to take care of Katie for us this weekend.  Ben is participating in a leadership workshop with his company today and tomorrow at Semiahmoo Resort, in Blaine, WA.  Lucky for me, spouses were invited to join in the Saturday night dinner.  I will be driving up tomorrow morning after breakfast with Katie.  Needless to say, it was a busy day of cleaning:)  It's a good thing we have company every once in a while.  Without it, our house would never get cleaned.  I managed to get the house clean, just as she arrived! 

I heated up the remainder of the Smokey Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner. Again, I must say that this recipe makes plenty for four decent sized bowls of soup, despite what Rachael Ray says:)  Jennifer even saved some of her's for tomorrow.  After getting Katie down for the night, Jennifer and I watched the season premiere of The Office and enjoyed catching up on family and friends. 

Thursday, 9/23/2010

We made tonight's dish for the first time in January this year. Now that it is Fall, we can have it again. 
WHOO HOO!!!

Smoky Chicken Tortilla Soup  

Recipe from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken stock
1 pound chicken tenders
1 bay leaf, fresh if available
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 slices thick, smoky bacon, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 chipotles in adobo, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons sauce
1 28-ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
Salt to taste
4 cups corn tortilla chips, lightly crushed
3/4 pound (2 cups) shredded fresh smoked mozzarella or smoked sharp white cheddar cheese
1 lime, cut into wedges
1/2 red onion, chopped
Fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Preparation:
Bring broth to a simmer and add the chicken tenders. Poach them for 6-7 minutes with a bay leaf.

While the chicken poaches, heat EVOO in a medium soup pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook it until crisp then remove it with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain off the excess fat, leaving 2-3 tablespoons in the pan. Add the onions and garlic to the skillet and cook them for 5 minutes. Stir in chipotles and tomatoes.

Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid, dice it then add it to the tomatoes and chipotles. Pass the poaching liquid through a strainer then add it to the soup pot as well.

Place a pile of crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of each soup bowl. Cover it liberally with cheese then ladle the hot soup down over the top. Serve it with lime, raw onions and cilantro at the table.

Notes on preparation:

1.  I didn't have chicken tenders on hand.  Instead, I used chicken breasts, which I sliced into chicken tender sizes.  

2.  We don't like crunchy onions in our house.  So, I cooked the onions and garlic for much longer than 5 minutes before I stirred in the chipotles and tomatoes.  I pretty much waited until the garlic was ready to burn;)

3.  I found smoked yellow cheddar on sale at Fred Meyer (8 ounces for $3.99).  I decided to use that rather than purchase smoked mozzarella for twice the price.  It was just fine:)

4.  I didn't add any extra salt to the soup.  The chicken broth, bacon, and tortilla chips have enough salt on them.  

5.  Rachael's website said that this recipe serves 2 with some left over seconds.  I think it makes enough for 4 decent bowls of soup.  I was plenty full after having a 1/4 of the soup for dinner. 

Saturday, 5/1/2010

What a fun day this was. My friend Elly and I hosted a bridal shower for our friend Lauren at my home. I will create a special "Bridal Shower" post later on with details about the shower. It was perfect!

After the bridal shower, we all went to downtown Seattle to the CanCan, a kitchen and cabaret, for the bachelorette party. I'd been there two times before, once for another bridal shower and once for a 30th birthday party. There is a tiny stage and the tables are packed in. Each show I've seen is a bit different, but always very entertaining and slightly odd at the same time. We arrived at 6pm so that we could have dinner and relax before the 7:30 show. Our ticket included a 3 course meal. Here's what I ordered:

1st course: Vegetarian soup made with fresh market produce (it is located at the Pike Place Market)
2nd course: Salad Ortaggio- spinach, pear, gorgonzola, and spiced walnuts tossed in balsamic-basil vinaigrette
3rd course: Three Cheese Macaroni- penne pasta in a sauce made with pecorino, gorgonzola and parmigianno cheeses, fresh sage and bread crumbs.

The food was delicious, the show was fun, and the drinks were tasty! I highly recommend a visit to the CanCan if you ever need something different to do in Seattle.