This Week's Sweets and Eats: Don't be Chicken

This week's 'Sweets and Eats'

There are usually two nights a week that we can count on needing a quick and easy dinner. Tuesdays and Wednesday evenings we are out with ministry events. Wednesday nights I don't even plan out a meal on our weekly menu, simply because odds are, it's just not going to work out. It's just a part of our life and we are comfortable with our weekly routine, but there are some weeks where our budget ever so softly reminds us that eating out after church, or running through chick-fil-a just isn't the BEST option. I am always looking for quick and easy meals that require little or no preparation, and this week I hit the jackpot.

With some fresh deli slices, swiss cheese and fresh whole wheat bolillos rolls (which are 8 for $1 just about anywhere I go), I was able to prepare a quick, delicious and cheap meal for us. It didn't make a mess. It didn't require any preparation, and best of all, I didn't have the "this really didn't fit into my budget" guilt. Along with picking up some cold cuts in the deli, I also picked up a rotisserie chicken which we used for sandwiches, and later used the remaining chicken for our Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was already cooked, and I got 3 meals out of it for only $4.98 at Walmart. I cut the rolls in half, piled on the meat (turkey for Seth, shredded chicken for me), added some swiss, salt and fresh cracked pepper, put it in the over on high (broil) for about 5 minutes. Then I added some mayo, deli mustard, oil and vinegar (EVOO and Red Wine Vinegar - Subway style) and BAM... soooooo good.

Like I said, we used the rest of the chicken in a pot of Chicken Tortilla Soup. The flavor from the rotisserie chicken is much better than just plain ol' boiled chicken. Do yourself a favor, and just try it! Don't be a... well, you see where this is going right???

I digress.

This is one of the best, if not the absolute best Tortilla Soup recipe I've ever made. I usually make it 2 or 3 times during the winter months and this time I tried a new recipe which proved to be an excellent idea. Of course, I added some of my own flare to the recipe and here it is: (my changes and additions are in bold)

1	tablespoon	canola oil
1	tablespoon	butter
1	medium	yellow onion, chopped
1	rib	celery, chopped
2	cloves	fresh garlic, minced ( I used 3)
4	cups	chicken stock (I used 2 containers)
1		red bell pepper, chopped
1		poblano pepper or green bell pepper, chopped (I used a poblano)
1/2 1	handful	jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely minced (omitted this) Cilantro
1/2	teaspoon	salt
1/4	teaspoon	pepper
1/2	teaspoon	ground cumin
1/2	teaspoon	ground coriander (I didn't have any, so I omitted this)
1	tablespoon	sugar
1	tablespoon	chili powder (I used 1 tsp because I didn't want it to be too spicy for baby Kai)
15	ounces	can tomato puree
1	tablespoon	Worcestershire sauce
1 1	pound can	cooked chicken, cubed or pulled whole kernel sweet corn
Cheese sauce
2	tablespoons	butter
2	tablespoons	flour
1	cup	heavy cream, half and half or milk
1/2	teaspoon	salt
1/2	teaspoon	pepper
8	ounces	cheese, grated (I used a Mexican Blend)
Garnish
		Tortilla chips, crumbled (or if you can find them, tortilla strips)
		Sour cream
		Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped Chopped Avocado

1. Make the soup: Heat oil and butter in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté onions, celery and garlic until soft.

2. Add a splash of chicken stock, and then the red bell, poblano or green bell and jalapeno peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes to soften.

3. Add the cilantro and all of the spices (salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, sugar, chili powder), and stir until fragrant

4. Add the remaining chicken stock, tomato puree and Worchestershire sauce. Mix well and bring to boil.

5. Add chicken and corn, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes (or more – the longer a soup simmers, the better!)

6. Make the cheese sauce: Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in flour to create a paste.

7. Slowly add the dairy, stirring constantly, until a thick, creamy sauce is formed. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Add grated cheese and stir to completely incorporate into the sauce.

8. Add cheese sauce to the soup, stirring to mix well. The soup should now be creamy, but not necessarily spoon-hugging thick.

9. To serve: ladle into bowls, then sprinkle on cilantro. Add a spoonful of sour cream, chopped avocados, and top with tortilla chips/strips

I think that if you were being a little more strict with counting calories that this soup would still be absolutely delicious without the cheese sauce mixed in. I had a small bowl while it was simmering, before I mixed in the sauce, and it was still oh-so tasty.

Now, for the proverbial "icing on top". . . I hate to rub this in if you aren't close to an HEB Central Market, but holy WOW! They have a fresh baked bread section with all sorts of beautiful breads! The jalapeno cheddar has been tempting me for a while now, and after coming off of this fast and having gone 3 weeks with no carbs, I was so weak, and I caved! I'm so glad I did because this was the perfect addition to the soup. I sliced it, buttered it, toasted it, and sprinkled some cheese on top and served the crunchy, chewy, tasty slices with the soup. Total success.

To balance the swiss cheese and carb overload, we mixed some of our own trail mix complete with broken up pieces of rich dark chocolate sprinkled in with the raisins, almonds, cranberries and other goodies. The dark chocolate is a much healthier and more figure-friendly alternative to m&m's. It turned out to be a totally yummy, low-cal, healthy snack! We mixed it all in a huge bowl and then divided it up into air-tight containers so it would keep longer.

That's my version of sweets and eats this week. We are glad to be off of the fast, but still wanting to watch what we eat and continue the weight loss attempt. Seth has lost over 20 lbs and I am right behind him with 14! It feels SO good and is totally worth any food sacrifice that we have to make in order to continue in that direction!