Tortilla Soup

Ingredients to stew chicken:

3 split chicken breasts (with skin and bone)

2 to 3 carrots

2 to 3 celery ribs

1 onion, quartered

6 to 8 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
Place the chicken breasts in a pot with carrots, celery, and onion. Add salt, pepper, and garlic. Cover with water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for one to two hours, or until chicken is very tender.

Remove chicken pieces to a platter, and let it cool a bit, then shred (discarding skin and bones). Set a strainer over a large bowl, and pour stock with vegetables into strainer. Discard the vegetables. Pour the stock back into the pot. Add the shredded chicken to stock.

Additional soup ingredients:

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (with its liquid)

1 15.5 ounce can black beans (rinsed well)

1 15.5 ounce can white hominy (drained)

1 cup frozen corn

2 Tablespoons chicken soup base

2 Tablespoons ground cumin

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

4 corn tortillas (tear into strips or small pieces)

Directions:

Add all of above additional ingredients to stock and chicken. Stir gently to combine, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes to an hour.

Ladle into bowls, and top with:
shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

sliced avocado

sour cream

My note: The flavor of this is like my favorite restaurant tortilla soup. Though I haven't had a restaurant version around here that included the beans, corn, or hominy, I wanted to add some fiber/texture and stretch the servings. Usually the restaurant versions use fried strips of tortillas added while plating, but I didn't want the extra step or oil, so I just added the torn tortillas to the soup while cooking to incorporate the tortilla flavor.

If you are really organized and/or watching your fat intake, you can cook the chicken one day, refrigerate the stock overnight, and skim the congealed fat from the top of the stock before reheating and continuing to make soup.

Tex-Mex Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 zucchini, unpeeled and roughly chopped

2 cups corn kernels

1/8 cup sliced pickled jalepeno peppers, chopped

1 1/2 cup cooked chicken breast, diced

2 14 ounce cans chicken broth

1 12 ounce can evaporated milk

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large saucepan, melt butter and sauté the onion until it is tender. Stir in the zucchini, corn, jalapeno, and diced chicken. Add chicken broth, and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook the soup until the zucchini is tender (5 to 10 minutes). Stir in the evaporated milk, and heat just until it is hot...do not boil. Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the cheese.

Garnish each bowl with a little more shredded cheese and/or crisp tortilla strips.

Easy Enchilada Casserole

I believe this recipe originally came from recipes.com. I don't know the author.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 (15 oz) can ranch-style beans
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 (12 oz) package corn tortillas
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Brown ground beef. Add chili powder, beans, tomatoes and soup; mix well and heat thoroughly.
- Line 13"x9" dish with tortillas. Then make a layer with the meat mixture. Layer some cheese on top of that. Repeat layers ending with cheese.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.
my note: This is the lazy girls' enchiladas. Incredibly quick and easy. I've spent way more time and effort trying to make traditional enchiladas, and been unhappy with the result every time. I'll never bother again, because this is IT!