Tortilla Soup

I had a roasted chicken from Costco to use up and had a taste for tortilla soup. I got online to find a recipe and came across quite a variety. I finally settled on Emeril's Favorite Tortilla Soup (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/emerils-favorite-tortilla-soup-recipe/index.html)

Well, I loved it! It wasn't too tomato-y (a plus for me). It was a brothy soup with lots of flavor (what else would you expect from Emeril). I suppose you could add other veggies, but I don't think it needed anything else.

I took the bones from the roasted chicken and cooked them up in chicken broth to give the broth used in the soup more flavor (the Costco chickens are very well seasoned) -- and I put it in the refrig over night so I could easily get rid of the extra fat. Instead of raw chicken, I used the already cooked chicken breast from my roasted bird cut up into chunks.

I served it with tortilla strips - I was going to make the chipotle crema, but it seemed a waste to buy a can of chipotle in adobe sauce for a single teaspoon -- as it is, I still have a lot of cilantro to use! I gave some of the soup to Kath and she topped it with avocado (not a fav of mine) and said it was delicious.

I didn't take a photo, but there is one with the recipe.

Monday Afternoon Snack

Today I am hosting my parents and decided to do a little fun cooking since I was working from home anyway and surprise them with something delicious. I decided that there must be an afternoon snack, and it couldn't just be crackers!

I have been really wanting to try this white bean hummus and I thought that was just the ticket. To go along with it, I made my own tortilla chips (pita would work too but I happened to have a lot of tortillas), and a vegetable mix. Everything was delicious and worked quiet well together, it was such a quick and easy snack to make I'd do it ever day after school..er work.

White Bean Hummus
3 T olive oil
3 T fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper
paprika (optional)

Directions:
1. Whir oil, beans and lemon juice in food processor until just pureed. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with paprika if desired.

Fresh Tortilla Chips
torillas
olive oil
salt
cumin (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cut tortillas into desired chip size
3. Toss with about 1-1/2 T olive oil and salt to taste
4. Bake 10 minutes or until crisp

Vegetable Mix
assorted fresh vegetables such as bell peppers, jalapeno, tomatoes, cucumbers
Kosher salt or other coarse salt
Fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1. Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
2. Toss with lemon juice and salt. Let stand 30 minutes until flavors mix.

Black Bean Tacos and more...

My niece Katie invited us over for a fabulous black bean taco bar. (I will let Katie put that recipe on the blog). The taco bar was so delicious that it inspired me to look up recipes on the Internet for Black Bean Tacos. I discovered a wonderful recipe on an awesome Blog:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/02/crispy-black-bean-tacos-with-feta-and-slaw/
This economical and easy recipe was described by my son as "phenomenal". Next I plan to try the Spanish Chorizo and Asparagus.