Chicken Tortilla Soup

I LOVE this soup! It is so easy to put together in the crockpot and let simmer all day while you do other things. It tastes super yummy and you can add to it other things to make it just right for you!

In your crock pot add:
2 16 0z cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomato
1 can rotel(diced tomatoes with green chili)
6 oz can tomato paste
2 cups frozen corn
3 cups cooked chicken
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tsp salt
tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Let simmer on low all day, and when ready to serve top with cheese and corn chips. I cheat and use corn tortilla chips, but if you want to make it really special, fry up your own! It tastes ten times more yummy that way I'll admit, but being a busy mom I am usually in a rush and looking for any short cut I can take!
Enjoy!

My Grandma's Chicken Noodles

When we were young our grandmother would cook a special meal for us for our birthdays. We could request anything we wanted, and me and my brother both always requested the same thing, each and every year, well into adulthood! Her homemade chicken noodles! Oh, they were so good! She would serve them over mashed potatoes(I'll post my own recipe for those on a following post!)

Grandma's Chicken Noodles

The base is simple enough, just boil some chicken until cooked and cut into big chunks or bite sized pieces. I like to use canned chicken broth rather than water for more flavor. Add a little salt and pepper. It really is that simple, yet so tasty. I used boneless skinless breasts, but if you want the best flavor use the whole chicken on the bone, and after cooked remove meat from the bone. Seeing how I rarely eat meat, and can't if it resembles it's natural form in any way, the boneless, skinless works for me!!

The Noodles

3 eggs

3 tbls milk

enough flour to make a very stiff dough

salt

pepper

Mix all ingredients, and roll out about 1/4 inch onto wax paper. Let set out to dry for an hour or more(you can skip this step if short on time)

Cut into strips and add to boiling soup and cook for 15-20 minutes. Serve on mashed potatoes!

For a Day Such As This

We woke up to lots of snow and even more falling, so while we were planning on making baked beans for a potluck tonite, it looks like we will be house bound and this weather is just calling for an old favorite recipe of mine! I got this one from a very old issue of Keepers At Home Magazine.

Grandma's Chicken & Dumpling Soup

2-3 lbs chicken cut up(I just use Chicken Breasts)

6 c cold water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

3 whole cloves

Soup Base

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can chicken broth

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup chopped celery

1-1/2 cups chopped carrots

1/4 cup onion

1 cup chopped potatoes

1 sm bay leaf

seasoning salt

Feather Dumplings

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1 egg well beaten

2 Tbs butter melted

1/4 cup milk

Place chicken, water, bouillon, pepper corns, and cloves in kettle and bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer until chicken is tender. Cool chicken just slightly, cut into bite sized pieces and set aside. Strain and skim chicken broth. Put the reserved chicken and broth in large kettle. Add cans of broth, cream of chicken and mushroom soups, celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, bay leaf, and seasoning salt. Put cover on kettle and simmer soup on low for 2-3 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, mix up feather dumplings by sifting dry ingredients together and adding egg, melted butter, and enough milk to make a moist but stuff batter. Drop by teaspoon fulls into the boiling liquid. Cook covered without peeking for 18-20 minutes or until the dumplings are done. YUM! Enjoy!

It's Getting To Be Soup Weather!

I love being able to cook soup in the crockpot all day long and letting it make the whole house smell good! Then just add some crusty bread, maybe a salad and you have a yummy meal with little effort.

Last night I just threw a few things in the crock and it came out yummy! Here's what I did:

4 cups veggie broth

2 cups water

1 onion diced

3-4 carrots sliced

2 zucchini diced

3 stalks celery sliced

4 garlic cloves pressed

1 can diced tomatoes with juice

1 can white kidney beans drained

1 can red kidney beans drained

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tbl sugar

thinly sliced cabbage

1-2 cups cooked noodles(I used macaroni shaped)

fresh Parmesan cheese

a dab pesto sauce

First I sauteed the onion, garlic, carrots and celery in a little olive oil until the onions were clear then added to the crock pot with the broth, water, tomatoes, seasonings and beans. I cooked on low most of the day(6-7 hours) then I turned to high and added the zucchini, cabbage and cooked noodles and cooked for about another hour. To serve I added just a dab of pesto sauce and some fresh Parmesan cheese to each bowl(the fresh Parmesan is really a must in my opinion!)

My oldest and youngest did turn their noses up to it, but my middle son couldn't get enough, he even ate it for breakfast this morning!

I served with some garlic bubble loaf bread(search archives under bread for recipe)

" But I don't want to eat at Carl's Jr."

Yes, more words a mother loves to hear from her teen. See, in the morning before we left, I had put all the fixings for Split Pea Soup in the crockpot, so we'd have dinner ready when we got home after our busy day at Tae Kwon Do and other running around.

Well, we did alot more running around than planned and hunger hit me! I had to eat right then!! There was no way I was going to make it the 4o minute drive home, I was starved!!

So I suggested we stop at Carl's Jr. to grab a quick bite. You'd think I suggested we stop and eat liver and onions!!! Fast food is suppose to be a treat(a rare one in this household!!) but the teen was less than excited about the idea...."but mom, you promised split pea soup!" he whined!!

A few months back I was again making this dish when the neighbor teen stopped in. We offered him a bowl and he insisted he HATED split pea soup. He knew for a fact he hated it, as they recently had it at his house and there was no way he'd ever eat it again!!

We finally talked him into it, and guess who is always a guest at our house on split pea soup night??

So, here's the recipe that makes split peas more appealing than the local fast food joint, and turns even split pea haters into split pea lovers:

Split Pea Soup

8 cups liquid(I use 4 cups veggie broth&4 cups water.)

2 cups dried split peas

1/2 cup dried barley

1 onion diced

3 carrots sliced

2 bay leaves

I put all of this in the crock pot first thing in the morning on high. About noon I add:

2 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic powder

I add other seasonings depending on my mood, usually thyme and basil

cook until soft and serve with whole wheat rolls(I use a recipe from my bread machine cook book)

It sounds so plain and simple, but I swear, it is always a hit!!

"Awesome!!"

Those were the words that slipped from my teens mouth when he opened the lid on the crockpot and saw we were having potato soup for dinner the other night!! That always makes a mom feel good when anyone, especially a teen has such words about her meals!

Even better is how easy(and cheap!) this one is to make

Potato Soup

6 cups diced, peeled taters

5 cups water

2 cups diced onions

1 cup carrots, diced

1/4 cup butter

4 tsp. chicken bouillon granules OR vegetable granules

2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper

12 oz can evaporated milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients in crock pot except cheese and milk. Cook on low 8 hours(may need to cook on high if using a newer crock pot) just before serving add cheese and milk and mix well.

This one gets rave reviews from all! Everyone from the baby to the teen and visiting grandparents love! So easy to make!

I usually round it out with homemade whole wheat rolls. I really like the recipe I got from HERE

Download the free booklet as it is full of good and healthy recipes! I use the bread machine for the dough then shape it by hand!

I have a split pea soup recipe that gets similar reviews, I will post it next time!