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.



 

Enchilada Pasta

I make enchiladas just about every couple of weeks but this just changed up the game a bit. Well really, it means that I will probably be making them once a week (changing it up between the typical tortilla version and this new pasta version). It is to die for! I recommend adding in whatever extras you like. This recipe calls for corn, black beans, and avocado... But if you like jalapenos, pinto beans, etc... mix it up! This is the mexican version of comfort food.

Enchilada Pasta

16 ounces extra wide egg noodles (1 bag)

1 1/4 cups enchilada sauce

1 cup canned corn kernels, drained

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups of Kraft Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (or Greek Yogurt Sour Cream)

1 can Diced Green Chiles

1 pound Ground Beef

4 ounces cream cheese

½ a packet of Taco Seasoning *Tip: Save the other half for your next Mexican dish! Or use it all for extra flavor

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 Avocados

1 bunch fresh Cilantro



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil your baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.

In a large bowl, combine enchilada sauce, corn, beans, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, Greek yogurt and green chiles; set aside.

Side Note: Funny story. So the first time I made this I somehow missed out on cue to add enchilada sauce (even though I had purchased it). Exit stage left Mary, I know. However, I wanted to mention it here because if you have someone in your family, someone you are cooking for, or whatever the case may be, that doesn't like enchilada sauce… this recipe turned out amazingly without it. Just trust me. All of the other flavors from the diced green chiles, cilantro, avocado, etc are enough to get you in the fiesta mood.

Now that I have sufficiently embarrassed myself. Let’s move on J Add ground beef to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese and taco seasoning until cream cheese has melted. Stir in pasta and enchilada mixture until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add pasta to prepared baking dish and top with avocado and remaining cheeses. Place into oven and bake until cheeses have melted, about 5-10 minutes.

Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro. The more the merrier.

Korean BBQ Steak Tacos with Honey Sriracha Slaw

Who said Crock-Pot recipes needed to be hard? Campbell’s certainly didn’t. They recently came out with a line of ‘Slow Cooker’ sauces that have made making Crock-Pot dishes almost impossible to turn down. With my pure love of Asian food, I was ECSTASTIC when I saw they had a Korean BBQ version of the sauce.  Instant light bulb went off: TACOS!

It’s fairly easy to come up with things to put on a flour tortilla, but it is not often that you find something new and different. I thought you all would really appreciate this Mexican dish with some Asian flare for not only its flavor but its simplicity, too! Have at it :)

Korean BBQ Steak Tacos with Honey Sriracha Slaw

2-3 pounds of Chuck Roast Steak (make sure there is some marbleization so that it doesn’t get tough)

1 package of Campbell’s Slow Cooker Korean BBQ Sauce

1 carton of sliced Mushrooms

1 package of shredded Cabbage (you only need to use about 3 cups worth)

¼ cup of Mayo

1 tablespoon of Sriracha

1 tablespoon of Honey

1 package of small Flour Tortillas

Optional:

1 bunch of Green Onions

1 bunch of Cilantro

Set your Crock Pot to low and add your whole chuck roast as well as your mushrooms.

Pour the entire contents of the Campbell’s Slow Cooker sauce into the Crock Pot. Let it sit on low for the remainder of the day (6-8 hours).

Once it is done cooking, use a fork or tongs to shred the meat a bit. Add your desired amount of shredded steak and mushrooms to your flour tortillas.

In a bowl, combine your shredded cabbage, mayo, sriracha and honey. Stir the ingredients and top your tacos off with the mixture. Lastly, add chopped green onions and cilantro to your tacos, if you wish (I would recommend doing so!)

And that’s all folks. You heard it here first.

Teryiaki Pork Tacos with Sriracha Slaw

As I've stated before, who in the world doesn't love tacos? You can (quite literally) put anything in them! This specific taco recipe came about due to our love for those already-marinated pork tenderloins at the grocery store. Smithfield is probably the most popular brand, but there are tons out there with lots of fun flavors like garlic & herb, cajun, and… teriyaki! We eat them all the time, but I wanted a new way to utilize them in a dish other than just pairing it with some mashed potatoes and veggies. And then came these Asian-inspired pork tacos…

The pork is already done for you, minus the cooking part, so the only ‘work’ portion of this recipe is the toppings and the sides! My kind of dinner.

Teriyaki Pork Tacos with Sriracha Slaw

1 already-marinated pork tenderloin (teriyaki preferred)

2 cups of packaged shredded cabbage (coleslaw without the sauce)

2 tablespoons of Sriracha (hope you like it hot!)

2 tablespoons of Sour Cream

4 flour tortillas

1 avocado

1 lime

Cilantro for garnish

Cook the pork tenderloin based on the directions indicated on its’ packaging. While that is cooking, mix the cabbage, sriracha, and sour cream together in a bowl and set aside. Next, sliver the avocado into slices that will fit well on the tortilla. Once the pork tenderloin is done (be sure it is 160 degrees and has no pink areas) cut it into bite size pieces. Place these pieces, the sriracha slaw, and avocado onto your tortillas… And… THAT IS IT! Serve a lime wedge on the side in-case your taste testers want to add a little zing to their tacos (this is recommended).

This recipe is beyond easy, not to mention, has a wonderful depth of flavor and is perfect for any night of the week. You’d be crazy not to try! What is your favorite kind of taco? Fish? Spicy Chicken? Please share!