Chicken & Tomato Soup

Sunday night after we were finished trick-or-treating, we decided to head over to Chili’s for a quick dinner. There was a new soup on the menu that sort of jumped out to me and I ordered a cup with my meal. That was my first mistake. When the soup arrived I was immediately taken by the aroma, and as soon as I took the first sip Brent could tell I was in love! We fought over the remainder of the soup and our waiter was kind enough to bring us a second cup on the house. I wrote down the ingredients from the menu and knew I had to recreate it.

Brent says this is better than the original, but I think it’s pretty dang close – if not slightly different. For my version there is more avocado and a slight sprinkle of cheddar cheese which I think brings the whole thing together. I urge you to try this soon, you won’t be disappointed!!

Chicken & Tomato Soup

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 yellow onion, small dice

¼ cup minced fresh garlic

4oz can chopped green chilies

10oz can Mexican Rotel with Lime & Cilantro

14.5oz can fire roasted tomatoes

49.5oz + 32oz chicken broth

2 cups cooked rice (we used brown)

1 Tbsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Fresh avocado, cubed

Lime wedges

Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Using a mandolin slicer, slice your chicken breasts very thin (or use a knife). Heat a large stockpot over medium, medium-high heat and drizzle generously with EVOO. Once heated, toss in your onion and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in your chicken, salt and pepper and continue to cook for another 3 minutes then add your garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring often. To the pan add your green chilies, tomatoes, Rotel, cooked rice and chicken broth. Simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat.

Just before serving, add in your chopped cilantro. To serve, place approximately half of an avocado, cubed, in the bottom of your soup bowl and top with ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese. Ladle soup over that and top with a generous squeeze of lime juice.

Enjoy! KC

My Favorite Potato Soup

Whenever I was sick as a kid, my Mama would always fix me homemade potato soup. It seemed like she would slave over the stove forever for that creamy goodness. Turns out it was nothing more than potatoes and milk but it was still one of my favorites.

A few years ago just as Fall was making its appearance I threw together this soup out of basically nothing. It was late, chilly, and I was sick and did NOT feel like going to the store. Using a few staples I had around this soup was born and has quickly become my favorite grown-up potato soup. It's slightly sweet with just a hint of spice - but if you're like me, you'll add a little extra.

Potato Soup
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
2 large baker potatoes, peeled and large diced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and large diced
1/2 lb. honey or brown sugar ham, diced
1 medium sweet yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt (or Real Salt)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
Generous pinch of ground cinnamon

Directions:
Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat and drizzle well with extra-virgin olive oil. Once hot, toss in your diced onions and ham and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to sweat.

Add in your diced apples, garlic and dry spices and cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in your potatoes, broth and water and stir. (The liquid should be above the potatoes; if not, add just enough extra water or broth to cover.)

Reduce heat to medium and simmer soup for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then use an immersion blender to puree about half of the soup (you can also use a food processor.) Serve with a drizzle of heavy cream.

Enjoy! KC

Pea Chowder

I’m not sure how I’ve never had split pea soup in my lifetime. Peas are probably one of my favorite vegetables (despite the high carbohydrates) so it should have been a natural transition, but I suppose my mom must not have liked it and that’s why she never fixed it. Wednesday we saw the end of Tropical Storm Hermine roll through DFW, and when all was said and done we’d had over 9” of rain at our house which left everything soggy and well, blah. At some point I’d picked up a bag of dried split peas so I decided soup was my goal and set off to find a recipe. None of the half dozen I scoured did I have all of the ingredients for and since I’d never actually eaten split pea soup I had no idea how it was supposed to taste. This is my version, and we all loved it. Maybe one day I’ll taste the real thing and adjust the recipe but for now this is pretty tasty.
Pea Chowder
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
3 strips thick peppered bacon, diced*
½ cup diced sweet onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3 carrots, diced
4 small red potatoes, diced
1 lb (16oz bag) dried split peas, picked through and rinsed
1 tsp. dried basil
3 quarts water or chicken stock
Kosher salt**

Directions:
In a large stock pot, sauté the bacon and onion in a generous drizzle of EVOO over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the bacon is cooked through. Add in the carrots and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. *If you don’t have peppered bacon on hand, add 1 tsp. black pepper.

Put potatoes, peas and basil in the stock pot and cover with water/stock. (Depending on your pot you may need slightly more liquid; you want it to be a good 2-3” over the potatoes). Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low. Taste for salt and adjust to your liking. **If you’re using stock, use less salt. The potatoes will naturally absorb the salt so start small and add to taste.

Simmer for one hour over medium low heat, stirring often to keep potatoes from scorching. You may serve as it, or I prefer to run my immersion blender though a couple of times to puree some of the chunks.

Serve with biscuits, like these from Annie's Eats.

Love, KC