Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Oddly enough, on a hot summer day, my husband and I were both craving soup!  I have been wanting to try and make a chicken tortilla soup of some fashion for quite some time, so using Cooking Light's recipe for Chicken-Tortilla Soup as a guide, I went to work!  For some of the ingredients, I used what I had on hand, for example the Rotel tomatoes...It came out spicier than I had expected, but incredible!!  We both loved this one and I added it right to my recipe binder.

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp (7.5mL) EVOO
2 quarts homemade chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 cup onion, chopped
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup white wine (I had Chardonnay in the pantry)
1 jalapeno, minced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1, 10oz can Rotel Chunky Tomatoes with Chilies
1, 10oz can reduced fat, reduced sodium tomato soup (I use Campbells for all cooking)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Garnish Ideas: Avocado, Tortilla or Corn Chips, Sour Cream, Mexican 4-cheese Shredded cheese

Directions:
1)  Heat EVOO in Dutch oven, over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add garlic and cook 30 seconds-1 minute, until fragrant.

2)  Add white wine, scraping any brown bits from the onions.

3)  Add remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, the reduce and simmer for 1 hour.

4) Garnish with whatever you'd like-I did avocado cubes, tortilla chips and some Mexican 4-cheese shredded, my husband also added some sour cream.

5) Enjoy! But beware, it is a bit spicy!

Zucchini "Pasta" (even without a fancy spiralizer)

I keep seeing beautiful zucchini "pastas" on Pinterest, and most of them are either stiff strips from a mandolin, or pasta noodle looking items from a spiralizer.  I already have a mandolin, so I decided to see what I could do with what I have on hand.  I put the zucchini through the thin strip blades on my mandolin, sautéed it in some garlic olive oil to try and slightly soften the zucchini, without making it too soft.  It worked!  Below is my recipe for Zucchini Pasta, served alongside Spicy Tilapia (minus the pineapple relish) from a previous post and Gina's phenomenal Skinny Basil Pesto. 

I would definitely advise prepping everything, and having it ready to go.  Once you start to cook the fish and zucchini, they are both done in less than 5 minutes.  This meal actually got a "best dinner ever" review from my husband so I think it all came together pretty nicely :-)

Zucchini "Pasta"

Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini
1/2 Tbsp ~7.5mL garlic olive oil, I use Stonewall Kitchen's Roasted Garlic Oil
Fresh ground black pepper/salt to taste

Directions:
1)  Julienne zucchini, I used the skinny blades on my mandolin and went down the length of the zucchini.  I did not peel them, as I like the mixed light and dark green colors.

2)  Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add pasta, salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.

3)  Cook an additional 2 minutes, or until pliable, and softened to your preference.

4)  Remove heat, toss with Skinny Basil Pesto, and top with additional grated parm.

Skinny Basil Pesto, from Skinny Taste

Ingredients:
1 cup basil
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt & pepper to taste
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1)  In a food processor pulse basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing.

Spicy Tilapia

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

4, 6 ounce tilapia fillets

 

Directions:

1)  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Combine Cajun seasoning, salt and Cajun seasoning in a small bowl.  Sprinkle fish evenly with pepper mixture. Add fish to pan, cook 2-3 minutes each side, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Finally Tried Quinoa!

I have been hearing about quinoa for months, and finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and give it a try...I found a delicious looking recipe on Pinterest (of course), from Damn Delicious and gave it a shot.  It was a success!  Even my husband liked it, who had been not so excited to try Quinoa.  Here is the original One Pan Mexican Quinoa that they invented, and below is my version, with a couple of minor adaptations.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 cup quinoa
1 cup reduced fat, low sodium, chicken broth
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 tomatoes, diced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 avocado, diced
juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1) Heat olive oil in large skillet, over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and jalapeno, cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.

2) Stir in quinoa, chicken broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, until quinoa is cooked through.

3) Remove from heat.  Stir in lime juice and avocado.  Serve and enjoy!