Baja Chicken Soup

It turned out to be a dark & rainy Saturday so soup sounded pretty good. I found this recipe last week and I had everything on hand so I thought I’d give it a try. I added just a few ingredients to the original and it turned out pretty good. I hope you like it.

Baja Chicken Soup

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in bite size pieces
1 tbl olive oil
1 can cheddar cheese soup
3 cups chicken broth
1 can ro-tel
2 cans black beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn
1 small can of chopped black olives (not in the original)
1 packed taco seasoning
1/2 C Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2 (not in the original)

Place olive oil in stock pan, heat over medium heat, throw in chicken. Cook until it’s white on outside. (It will cook more so make sure and don’t cook all the way through). Place can of soup and chicken broth in pot and bring to boil.

Then place rotel, beans, corn, and black olives in pot. Season to your taste with seasoning packet. When you are about 5 minutes from serving, add Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2 just to help cool down the spiciness. Simmer until heated through and ready to eat.

Hatch White Chicken Chili with a shot of Jose

It was feeling like winter earlier this week in Central Texas. No better time to make chili. I made a red chili not too long ago and remembered having white chicken chili when we lived in Minnesota. So this is my version using Hatch green chile peppers (which are a favorite among most in Central Texas). Also, I added a shot of Tequila to this recipe to give it a little bit of a kick. Enjoy!!

 Hatch White Chicken Chili with a shot of Jose

 

1 pound of chicken (I used fajita marinated chicken from the grocery store)

3 hatch chile peppers, seeded & diced

1 large onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded & diced

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 14.5 oz can of white Northern beans

1 shot of tequila

Juice of 1 lime

4 Cups (1 box) of chicken stock

4 oz of Cream cheese (I use fat free cream cheese)

1/2 Cup Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2

 

Cook chicken until no longer pink. Set aside to cool. Chop into bite sized pieces.

 

In the same pan, over medium-high heat sauté the onion, garlic, & peppers until the onions are soft & translucent. Add beans. Add chicken back into pan and stir to combine.

 

Pour tequila & lime juice into pan, stirring mixture to coat. Add chicken broth and raise heat to high just until boiling. Turn to a low simmer and add cream cheese by breaking up into small pieces as you put in the pan. Stir and continue to simmer, covered for at least 15 minutes.

 

Add 1/2 & 1/2 and stir through. Keep on heat for another 5 minutes before serving.

 

Once soup is in the bowl, you can top with avocado, shredded cheese, or a crumbling of tortilla chips.

 

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

This soup really just comes together on its own. After living in Minnesota for awhile, I think this type of soup becomes a cold weather staple. I don’t think I’ve ever made this the same way twice, but that’s part of the fun. Here is one idea to get you going, but try different things it… Make it your own.

 

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

 

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast

4 C of chicken broth (you may need to add more as needed)

1 C carrots, chopped

1 C celery, diced

1 jar of button mushrooms

1 C cooked wild rice (pre cook this before you make the soup)

Seasoning (salt, pepper, Adobo seasoning, nutmeg, chicken bouillon)

1 C Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2

 

Turn your crockpot to high and add broth & chicken breasts. Meanwhile, prepare your vegetables adding them to the crockpot once finished. Add cooked wild rice.

 

Add your seasonings as desired. I like this soup a little peppery and I think that a nice complement to all of the other flavors in here, is just a little bit of nutmeg.

 

Leave this in the crockpot for an hour on high and then turn to low for 4-6 hours. When the chicken looks done, take it out and shred it into small pieces before adding back into the crockpot. When you are close to being done, add the 1/2 & 1/2. Let simmer together 1/2 hour before serving.

 

This is nice topped with green onions, cheese, you name it.