Chicken Enchilada Soup ~ Two Recipes... Also a Crock Pot Style

Here is two Chicken Enchilada Soups... try them both, see which one you like better. 

It’s cold and gloomy here which is perfect soup weather. Especially when that soup has a little heat of its own from some spicy jalapeno peppers.

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart chicken stock 
1 tablespoon chicken soup base

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

1 (8 oz). can tomato sauce

1 (19 oz.) can enchilada sauce (or two 10 oz. cans)
6 small corn tortillas*, minced

16 oz. Velveeta, cubed

1 cup co-jack cheese, shredded

 22 oz. bag Tyson roasted and diced chicken, thawed

1 can whole kernel corn**, drained (optional)

Garnishes: pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded cheese, crunchy tortilla strips

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and saute the onions until they are tender.  Add the minced garlic and cook another minute or two, then scrape the onions and garlic into your crock pot.  Add all the other ingredients, except the chicken and corn.  Cook over high heat for two hours or low for four.  Whisk until smooth (you may wish to use a stick blender).  Add the chicken pieces and corn and heat through, maybe another 30 minutes to one hour. Check seasonings, and garnish as you like before serving.

*Most of the recipes that I found online called for one or two cups of masa harina to thicken the soup. The store I was shopping in didn't carry that, so I got the brilliant idea to just chop up some corn tortillas and let them dissolve in the soup. it worked perfectly, and gave the soup great flavor...just like chicken enchiladas!

**Chili's chicken enchilada soup doesn't have corn in it, but it's delicious in this, amplifying the corny flavor of the tortillas. You could even go crazy and also add a can or two of black beans. That would be yummy, too

 This chicken enchilada soup has a few extras in it like corn and black beans.  There is two kinds of cheese in this soup, one grated pepperjack cheese which adds some extra heat and melts beautifully and then some crumbled cotija cheese which has a very mild flavor but adds a delicious creaminess to the soup.  Poached the chicken in chicken stock with some spices and then shredded the chicken and returned it to the soup later in the cooking process.  You can use boneless or bone-in chicken for this just remove the skin before cooking.

You could also make this soup in a crockpot, you'll just have to extend the cooking times - expect that it will take at least 3-4 hours on high and you'll probably want to use a 5 quart crockpot.  You can cook the chicken prior to adding to the crockpot or just put it all in together using chicken breasts cut into smaller chunks.  Add everything except the cheese and cilantro and cook.  Add the cheese and most of the cilantro just before serving to allow it time to melt, serve and top with cilantro.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

3 cups chicken stock
2 skinless, chicken breasts
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1  cup tomatoes sauce

4-6 jalapeno peppers, minced
  1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup tomato paste
8 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
8 oz pepperjack cheese, divided
1 cup cilantro, chopped
Tortilla chips

In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add chicken stock and heat over medium heat. Add chicken breasts, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Simmer about 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken and set aside. Add tomatoe sauce, jalapenos, onion, and garlic to the pot.  Simmer about 30 minutes, covered, then begin to add the black beans, corn, and tomato paste and stir to incorporate.  Add cotija cheese and half of the pepperjack cheese and stir to melt.  Return chicken to soup and cook about 20 more minutes until desired consistency.

If soup isn't as thick as desired, you can add strips of flour tortillas.  They will dissolve into the soup to thicken the broth.  Add cilantro, reserving some to top individual bowls if desired.  Ladle into serving bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, reserved pepperjack cheese and cilantro if desired.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and yours a wonderful feast with family and friends and a great thankfulness that the Lord has allowed us another year to see this day!

 

 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise;

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.   
Psalms 100:4

Shortbread Crust for Custard Tart

Total Time:   1 hour 30 minutes

Prep Time:   1 hour 10 minutes

Cook Time:   20 minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients for Crust:  


1/2 cup salted butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup flour (sifted) 

1 cup flour (sifted)ze

Update

 

Directions:

1.)  In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy with electric mixer ( about 3 minutes). 

2.)  Add extract, mix thoroughly ( 1 minute).

3.)  Incorporate flour, just a little at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined.

4.)  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

5.)  Turn dough out on a lightly floured board and roll out to 1/3 inch thickness. 

6.)  Line a tart pan (10 x 1" high with removable bottom) with the pastry dough.

7.)  Prick dough and palce in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.

8.)  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or golden brown.

9.)  Remove from oven, cool and fill with pastry cream top with fresh fruit

        (kiwi, banana, strawberry, green seedless grapes, blueberries).

Teriyaki Chicken & Rice - 20 Minutes

Ever had one of those days when you just know that your not going to have time for everything on the to do list for the day, and a good dinner for the family... as well!  This recipe was brought about by one of those long overwhelming days.  I threw this dish together... it's a make it, set it aside and forget about it meal... just what you need for one of those kind of days. 

Ingredients:

Pre-cooked Chicken

(I typically keep grilled chicken in the freezer for stuff like this)

Rice

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

3 Tbsp of Ketsup

1/4 cup water

Directions:

In a bowl, mix brown sugar, soy sauce, water and ketsup. Stir until well blended. Set aside. Measure out enough rice to feed your family. Pour it into a rice cooker. If you don't have a rice cooker, you can still do this on the stove, it just takes a little more watchful eye. Measure out the correct amount of liquid for your rice.

 

For example, I do 2 cups of dry rice for my little family. This means I will need 4 cups of liquid. I should have almost a cup of teriyaki sauce mixed in my bowl. I will then need approximately 3 more cups of water. If you want a stronger teriyaki flavor simply increase the amount of sauce you prepare and decrease the extra waterm accordingly. Pour the teriyaki sauce in the rice cooker. Add the extra water. Dice the chicken and dump it in the cooker as well. Set the cooker to cook and walk away. Serve when the switch flips from "cook" to "warm", at least that's what mine does. I usually serve it with steamed veggies or mix the veggies right in.. Super simple and prep time is like ten minutes max.

Scandinavian Spice Cake

 

Scandinavian food is usually mild and spiceless, but not this cake. The aroma of this cake is intoxicating. This traditional spice cake is great treat with the coffee and it's so easy to make. You need only one bowl to mix.

Dry Ingredients:

  2 dl Dark Farin sugar (Brown sugar) = 0.85 cups

0.5 dl White sugar = 0.21 cups

(Or just 1.5 dl white sugar with 1 dl brown syrup. Mix syrup with liquids) = 0.63 cups white sugar with 0.42 cups brown sugar

4.5 dl Flour = 1.9 cups

1 ts baking soda

1 ts baking powder

(ground spices into a fine powder)

2 ts Cardamom

2 ts Cinnamom

2 ts Ginger

2 ts Clove

1 ts Allspice (Pimenta dioica)

1 ts Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)

2 tbls Dark cacao powder

1/2 ts salt

(*ts = teaspoon, tbls. dl = deciliter)

Liquids:

 

2 dl Buttermilk or yoghurt

2 eggs

1 dl Coconut Oil (Good quality.)

Other veggie oils are ok too, and definitely more "scandinavian style", but I love cold pressed coconut oil. Even if you hate coconut smell and taste, from these flavors it won't pop up.

Mix all dry ingredients well in big bowl with the wooden fork or spoon. And then, add all room temperature "liquids" once, and mix them well with the dry ingredients, but don't whip them too much. You just need to get smooth dough. Room temperature is really important with the coconut oil. If the dough is too cold, it solidifies. If that happen, don't worry. This cake is pretty much impossible to ruin. Just place your bowl over hot water bath and mix even.

Pour into oiled cake mold and bake in the oven 175° (celsius, it's about 350° in fahrenheit) 45 minutes.

And here comes the hardest part: Turn mold over and let the cake settle . I know, I know, you would love to eat it right away, but it's better when it's cooled down.