Mexican Chicken and Lime Soup (Sopa De Pollo)

We recently stopped by a local Mexican restaurant and I decided to branch out a bit from my usual shrimp tacos or taco salad. Boy am I glad I did! I ordered their 'Sopa De Pollo' and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of flavor from this relatively healthy Mexican style chicken and rice soup. I had to figure out how to recreate it at home...



Mexican Chicken and Lime Soup (Sopa De Pollo)

1 Rotisserie Chicken (pick chicken from the rotisserie and shred)

1 quart of Chicken Broth

2 Jalepenos, chopped

1 Yellow Onion, chopped

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Juice of 2-3 Limes, 1 extra lime (slices for serving)

1 Hass Avocado, chopped

1 large Tomato, chopped

Salt and Pepper

3 stalks of Celery, chopped

1 ½ packs of Chicken flavored Uncle Ben’s 90 second rice

In a pot, add shredded chicken, broth, rice, and celery. Let the ingredients come to a boil then sit on low for 20-30 minutes. While the soup is cooking, mix the ingredients for the ‘pico de gallo’. Add the jalepenos, yellow onion, cilantro, lime juice, tomato, and salt and pepper into a small bowl and mix.

Also, have your chopped avocado in a seperate small bowl prepared for when the soup is done.

After the soup is done cooking, spoon into a bowl and top with pico de gallo and some chunks of avocado and serve! It is absolutely delicious… Words can’t describe.



 

Creamy Chicken Tinga Enchiladas

I typically don't find myself baking a whole lot, but this Mexican Enchilada dish changes my whole perception on baked meals.  Yes, it is that good. It is a perfect combination of flavors ranging from spicy to creamy.  This dish also makes it easy to make a delicious Mexican feast for a crowd; all within one baking pan.  You will have your friends thinking you are a Mexican chef with this one.  Although, with just a couple of specific grocery store purchases, this is actually one of the easiest meals I have ever made. And without further ado...

Creamy Chicken Tinga Enchiladas:

1 fresh Rotisserie Chicken

1 package of Flour Tortillas

1-2 cups of Sour Cream

1 packet of Chicken Tinga Seasoning

1 can of Red Enchilada Sauce

2 cups of shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

Some chopped Cilantro and/or Green Onions for added flavor if you prefer

First preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Then shred the already-cooked rotisserie chicken making sure to discard any small bones.  Place the shredded chicken in a mixing bowl and add chicken tinga seasoning (pictured below) as well as the 1-2 cups of sour cream.  The amount of sour cream depends on just how creamy you would like the filling of your enchiladas to be.  This is the filling for the enchiladas.  You can certainly add cilantro or green onion to the filling if you wish to add a little more flavor. :)



Next, spoon about 2 tablespoons of this chicken filling into each of the flour tortillas.  A typical size baking dish normally allows for about 8-10 medium sized enchiladas. Once they have the chicken filling, you can now roll each tortilla up until it almost looks like a tiny burrito.  Place each rolled up and chicken filled enchilada in the baking dish side-by-side so that they are touching.

Now it is time to sauce these things! Open the can of red enchilada sauce (pictured below) and pour the entire contents over all of the enchiladas.  Sometimes two cans may be necessary depending on what kind of sauce person you are.  I always buy two, ya know, just in case.



Lastly, the cheese.  Empty the content of the shredded cheese bag (normally around 2 cups) all over the top of the enchiladas.  These chicken-filled rollups should be covered in cheese people! Then place in the oven to bake for about 15 minutes or until all cheese is melted.



They are seriously so delicious! No need to head out to your local Mexican restaurant when you have this cooking in the oven at home.  I recommend home-made margaritas too.  It is a must-try. Typically I serve it with a side of rice or a fresh guacamole salad! YUM!

Tacos for Every Day of the Week!

Who doesn't love a bunch of fun ingredients topped off in a taco? We sure do! Therefore I have found a number of ways to do up the "taco night" in all different flavors and fashions.  For the most part, fish is my go to, although, an occasional shredded pork or chicken is wonderful too.

However, fish tacos are the holy grail in my book.  I am on a continual search for the perfectly made fish taco.  I have found some that come close, but I would say this simple recipe does it for me!

Fish Tacos

2-4 pieces of Tilapia (Normally 1-2 per person)

1 packet of Fajita Seasoning

1 head of Red Cabbage

1 tablespoon of Honey

1/2 cup of Sour Cream 

1 bunch of Cilantro

1/2 cup of diced Scallions

2 Limes

1 package of Flour Tortillas

Optional Seasonings: these can be any you prefer, blackening, cayenne, etc.

First prepare the tilapia fillets.  Sprinkle the fillets with half of the fajita seasoning as well as any optional seasonings that you would like.  To cook; pan sear (a fancy word for cook in a pan) the fillets on either side for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown from the seasoning.  Set aside.

Next, prepare the "slaw".  Dice in red cabbage to a slaw like consistency and add finely chopped scallions and cilantro.  Add the 1/2 cup of sourcream, honey, and season with the rest of the fajita seasoning packet.  Mix all together and this is your slaw topping.

To assemble the tacos just simply cut the fish in strips that fit nicely into the flour tortillas and top with slaw.  Serve with lime slices on the side or sprinkle on top for that perfect citrus flavor!

I typically serve this meal with some Uncle Ben's 90 second rice and WHA-LA! You are done.  Chow down on this magnificent Mexican creation.

Picture to come... In the mean time I would definitely encourage to open up a bag of Tostito's, a little salsa, and kick back in the kitchen with a glass of homemade Sangria!  Thats the way to do it!

Fajita Date Night

Ladies are always looking for new ways to spice up their love life.  How about a low cost, low key, date night with your fella? And let's say fajitas! Make-your-own fajitas are always a fun way to incorporate some collaboration in the kitchen.  Dress them up with guacamole and pico de gallo or keep it simple with the usual- cheese and sour cream.  In this postings picture, I have grilled up some onions and peppers with fajita seasoning, romaine lettuce, salsa, and guacamole!

For this dinner idea I included my favorite guacamole and grilled steak recipes:

Guacamole:

2-4 Hass Avocados

1 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar (adds a wonderful touch of flavor, this is the key)

1 bunch Cilantro

2 tablespoons of store-bought salsa (or homemade works too)

2 Limes and 1 Lemon (to stop avocado from browning)

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

For this super simple and tasty guacamole recipe all that is needed are a couple of ingredients, primarily because it utilizes store-bought salsa.  First, cut the avocados into chunks and into your bowl.  Next, add the salsa, red wine vinegar, cilantro (finely diced), salt and pepper to taste, juice of the limes, and lemon if you like (adding a tiny bit of lemon juice helps to reduce the browning that occurs when avocados have been cut).

Combine all of these ingredients and lightly mash with a fork.  Authentic guacamole is not suppose to be blended to a dip consistency like most store-bought versions are.  It is not only better, but tastier, to go the chunky route!

Steak:

2 boneless rib-eyes

1/2 a cup of ground coffee (whatever your personal favorite may be)

1-2 tablespoons of Cayenne Pepper 

Salt and Pepper (mainly) to taste

Hit your grill medium to medium high.

Coffee may sound like an odd ingredient to utilize when cooking a nice, juicy steak. Although, after trying it I cannot imagine a better seasoned steak.  TRUST ME.  After dry-rubbing the steak completely with the coffee, cayenne, salt and pepper it is ready to grill.

Cook for 3-5 minutes on either side to get a nice medium-rare temperature.  Look at that juicy goodness falling right out on to the cutting board!