On today’s menu? Chicken tortilla soup and breakfast burritos!
If you haven’t figured it out, cooking is more fun with friends and a great way to tackle recipes that require a little more effort. It’s also nice to have someone around to help entertain the kid every once in a while! So it may be a good idea to organize a “cook day” with a couple friends. Everyone brings their own containers, possibly some cooking dishes (if needed), and even possibly prep some food ahead of time. This time around, Kristin Andrews (who is a MUCH better cook than myself) offered to help out. She even smoked the chicken the night before for our soup. So, here are your recipes:
Chicken Tortilla Soup-This recipe is one that my Mom has been making for years. I’ve never actually attempted it myself because, to me, having to cook a chicken on the smoker beforehand, seemed to require too much pre-planning and, why make it when you can beg your momma to bring you some? It’s one of those comfort foods that she would send off to school with me and I’m sure I’ll never make it as good as she does, but I’ll try my darndest!
Ingredients
3 teaspoons olive oil
2/3 Cup red onion, diced
2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 Tablespoons fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 whole smoked chicken (you can also substitute a rotisserie chicken if you don’t have time to smoke one)
8 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1 cup fresh corn kernels
2/3 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4-1/2 Cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Remove skin and pick all the meat off the chicken, set aside. Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add red onions, garlic clove, and jalapenos. Cook over medium heat until vegetables soften (6-8 minutes). Stir in smoked chicken and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and let simmer about 30 minutes. Remove pot from heat, add corn, tomato and cilantro and let sit.
Before serving, you can top this soup with some diced avocado, a squeezed lime wedge, tortilla chips, cheddar cheese and a dallop of sour cream. Of course, all this can be after the fact if you are planning to freeze.
Lastly, about this recipe…it’s VERY flexible. If you like certain ingredients more than others, then get crazy and add extra of that. I LOVE fresh corn and jalapenos, so I put in plenty of extra. Also, we doubled the above to make plenty of soup for Kristin as well!
Breakfast Burritos-This is something that super easy to make and keep in your freezer for those hectic mornings. Just grab one out of the freezer, pop it in the microwave on defrost for a bit, then on regular power and viola! Yummy breaskfast!
Ingredients
3 lbs of breakfast sausage (the kind that comes in the tube). I got two regular and one spicy to mix in but that is totally preference.
1 onion
2 small bell peppers
24 eggs
Small amount of milk
Soft flour tortillas (I don’t have a specific number for you, but for us, this made about 34 medium tortillas, but would make many more if you used the smaller size)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 lbs of shredded cheese (if you know me, I hate the pre-shredded stuff so go for grating it yourself!)…We used 2 lbs cheddar and 1 lb pepper-jack
First things first, chop up the onion and peppers and set aside. In a large pan, begin browning the sausage. About halfway through cooking it, throw in the onions and peppers and stir continually to make sure everything gets thoroughly cooked.
In a large bowl, crack and scramble the eggs. Add some milk if you like, and salt/pepper. Pour the mixture into a large pan to cook…make sure you use cooking spray or butter and this can be tough to keep from sticking. Once the eggs are almost done cooking, lower the heat. You DON’T want to over cook them since they are going to continue cooking a bit in the warm pot. Remove from heat and set aside.
Back to the sausage and veggie combo…once it is completely cooked, you will want to pour in a strainer and drain all the grease out. Let it have some time to drain and pour back into pot. Remove from heat and let it cool.
Next is the assembly line…heat your tortillas as directed on packaging a few at a time and add a spoonful of sausage, eggs and top with cheese before rolling up. I store these in tupperware containers with parchment paper in between the layers.
