Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite things about winter are the soups! I love a nice hot bowl of soup on a cold day. One that goes on our soup rotation is this Chicken Tortilla soup. This soup is a great because it's such an easy crock pot soup!

Chicken Tortilla Soup 

1 cup Pace Thick & Chunky Salsa
2 cans Condensed Chicken soup
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts (put these in frozen)
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 soup can of water
1 tsp. ground cumin

*Optional- roasted hatch chili peppers cut into small pieces. They add just a little bit of heat (varies from pepper to pepper) and great flavor.

Toppings
Tortilla Chips
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
fresh chopped cilantro

Stir salsa, soup, chicken, corn, beans, water and cumin in a 4 quart slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours. Once the chicken is cooked, shred inside pot with a fork. Serve and add toppings! Ymmy!

Scalloped Potato's

There are so many different versions of scalloped potato's out there but this is one of my favorites, of course a lot of that favoritism comes from this recipe being my mom's :) And fall is the best time to make this dish! My hometown is in full swing of potato harvest! Best potato's ever!

Scalloped Potato's with Ham

4 medium Russet potatoes, sliced
1 can Cream of Chicken
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 small onion
1 cup cubed ham

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a large casserole dish with 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter. If you use a casserole dish that is about 9x13 (bigger than the one shown) you'll have more surface area, more of the potatoes will brown, and the cooking time will be faster.

In blender combine cream of chicken, black pepper, milk and onion (I add the onion here because my kids are kind of picky about finding pieces). Layer the bottom of the casserole dish with 1/3 of the potato slices, then add a bit of ham over that layer and pour some of the mixture from blender and repeat. Layer of potato's, ham and mix. Top the casserole with the remaining potato slices. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for one hour. When done, the potatoes should be tender, but not mushy, and the liquid should be mostly absorbed. After an hour, remove from the oven, remove the foil, sprinkle on some shredded cheese.

Chicken Tostada's

Ok, so I've heard them to also be called Tinga's but because I'm so Americanized we will just call them Chicken Tostada's! :) Now if you check my blog for recipes you'll know that most of mine come with more "instruction" than anything! So no difference on this one either! Let's just say I really shouldn't ever go into the recipe book writing business any time soon! :)

Chicken Tostada's

• Shredded Chicken*
• Tostada's (I prefer the brand Perico)
• Sour Cream
• Mexican Cheese, Cotija
• Cabbage/Lettuce (your preference)
• Fresh Salsa

Steps:
1. place tostada on plate
2. cover tostada with shredded chicken
3. add sour cream (if you like it)
4. lettuce or cabbage
5. fresh salsa
6. sprinkle crumbled cheese over top
7. ENJOY!

*Shredded Chicken
For the chicken I usually take some bone in chicken breasts or thighs and add them to a pot of water with a few seasonings; 2 to 3 whole cloves, a piece of garlic, a few slices of onion, salt & pepper. Let boil until chicken is cooked through. Then I'll remove the chicken from the pot and let cool. When the chicken is cool enough to handle I begin removing all the bones and shredding it by hand.

*Fresh Salsa
Dice up tomatoes, jalapenos and onions. Finely chop cilantro and mix all together.

Chicken Taquitos

So last night for dinner I made some Chicken Taquitos. It was something my mom would always make for us growing up and a big hit! Well I make them now for my little girls and Yeah! they are a big hit with them too!

Chicken Taquitos


Chicken
Whole Cloves
Garlic
Salt
Onions
Corn Tortillas
Canola Oil

Bring 2-4 chicken breasts (depending on the quantity you want to make) to a boil in a pot with 1-2 whole pieces of garlic, a few whole cloves, some slices of onion and some salt to taste. When the chicken is finally cooked remove chicken from pot and allow to cool. You could then strain the chicken stock and freeze for whenever you need some.

Once the chicken has cooled I shred it. Once it is shredded I start warming up some corn tortillas, place chicken in them and roll them up. Warming up the corn tortillas makes rolling them up easier, because if you try to roll the tortillas cold they will crack and break.

While I'm working on rolling the taquitos I pour some oil into a deep pan so that when I am done rolling my oil will be ready for me to deep fry the taquitos. When they turn a nice golden color they are done.

You can then add the toppings! Cover them in cheese, melt it, add some sour cream, lettuce and top off with some salsa.

I hope this makes sense to all of you! If you have any questions feel free to ask! :)