Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love tortilla soup. Even though I always look for it in the ready-made food section of the grocery store, I’ve never tried making it myself. One of the reasons I have never tried making it before is that I didn’t know how much of it I would actually eat and I only know how to cook for 6-8 people, never for one. I wasn’t sure it was the type of soup that I could eat lots of and freeze for later. As it turns out, I can eat a whole pot of it on my own without any leftovers to freeze!

With a lot more time on my hands during this pandemic, I have been challenging myself with new recipes and finally attempted to make tortilla soup. It’s sooooo delicious and hearty! And it’s so easy to make! I used store-bought chicken broth, store-bought rotisserie chicken, and store-bought tortilla strips. A lot of recipes have you make your own chicken and tortilla strips, and sometimes even your own broth (which I normally prefer), but buying all of these ingredients is so much easier! A whole rotisserie chicken is pretty cheap and you will still have a lot leftover to use for other meals. I don’t like beans and never have so I chose to omit them from the receipe but you can include them if you’d like. The toppings are my favorite part—the melted cheese, the crunchy tortilla strips, and the creamy avocado. Yum, yum, yum… I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

EASY CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP (serves about 5-6)

Ingredients:

• 1½ - 2 cups of shredded roasted chicken breast (depends how much you like meat!)

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 4 cloves of garlic, diced

• 1 jalapeno, deseeded and sliced

• 1 can of corn (or about 1.5 cups of frozen fire roasted corn or 1-2 cobs of corn shaved)

• 1 can of unsalted diced tomatoes

• 32 oz of chicken broth (low-sodium)

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp paprika

• 2 tsp oregano

• ½ - 1 tsp chili powder

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 lime, juiced

• 2 - 2¼ tsp salt

• 2 tsp ground black pepper

• 4 cups of water

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings:

• 2 small avocados, cubed

• ½ cup of cilantro, finely chopped

• thinly shredded Monterrey Jack & Cheddar cheese mix

• tortilla strips (in the grocery store salad section by the croutons)

• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

In a 3 quart pot, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Sauté onions until golden brown. Throw in garlic and jalapeno and lightly toast.  If your pan gets a little too hot and dry, lower heat a bit and add maybe ½ cup of water.

Add shredded chicken and 1 cup of the chicken broth. Season with salt, pepper, chili, cumin, oregano, and paprika. Toss in the bay leaf. Pour in another 1 cup of the chicken broth and stir. Cook for a couple minutes. Add canned tomatoes and mix. Pour in the rest of the chicken broth. Turn heat down to medium and cook for about 30 minutes. You may need to lower the heat to medium low if it starts bubbling too much.

Add 4 cups of water, corn, and lime juice. Stir and then cook for another 15 minutes. Then taste the broth and make adjustments as needed with salt, pepper, chili, or water and cook for another 15 minutes. I prefer my soup a little brothy because of the additional toppings that you add into your bowl after. You may need to adjust based on your preference and also whether you decide to add more chicken and/or beans.

In each serving bowl, top with cubes of avocado, shredded cheese, tortilla strips, cilantro, and a wedge of lime.

Spiced Cauliflower Steak with Avocado Chutney

Any cauliflower lovers out there? While I do eat meat, I still enjoy creating hearty vegetarian recipes every now and then. A couple years ago, I used to be a vegetarian. There is a part of me that still misses that lifestyle and how healthy my body felt. But once you start eating meat again, it’s hard to go back! It’s more fun to share food with friends and there are definitely more options when you eat out at restaurants. I try to limit my meat intake to when I eat out, but working on this Cambodian cookbook has got me eating lots of meat again! Today, I’m taking a break from meat and Cambodian food to make cauliflower steaks. It’s nice to mixed things up every once in awhile! Here is a simple and easy recipe for Spiced Cauliflower Steak with Avocado Chutney.

Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Avocado Chutney (serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

Cauliflower

·      1 cauliflower head

·      3 tbsp olive oil

·      1 tsp salt

·      2 tsp cumin

·      2 tsp curry powder

·      1 tsp paprika

·      1 tbsp lemon juice

Avocado Chutney

·      1 avocado

·      2 garlic cloves

·      ½ cup mint

·      1 cup cilantro

·      ½ cup cucumber

·      1 tbsp olive oil

·       ½ tsp salt

·      ½ tsp honey

·      1 tbsp lemon juice

Toppings

·      ½ cups of tomatoes, finely diced

·      ¼ cup cilantro, chopped

·      3-5 lemon wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Cut cauliflower head into ¾ inch segments.  Smaller pieces of the cauliflower may break off.  This is okay. Lay steaks and any broken pieces flat on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and massage evenly into the cauliflower.  Sprinkle with salt, cumin, curry powder, and paprika on both sides.  Pour lemon juice over the steaks.   Let the cauliflower bake for 30 minutes, flipping mid way through.

Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the avocado chutney in a food processor until it is creamy and smooth.  Set aside.

Once cauliflower has finished baking, allow to cool for 15 minutes.   Plate cauliflower steaks, drizzle with avocado chutney, and top with diced tomatoes and cilantro.  Serve with lemon wedges.