I love cooking a big pot or pan of anything that we can get multiple meals out of. I also did this when I was single and living by myself back in Chicago. Cooking for one, at least for me, is hard. Now, cooking every evening for myself and JR is just impossible when I cook a different meal for the boys, while caring for Pepa AND squeezing in our nightly workout together (admittedly I haven’t worked out with JR in about a month!).
During the summer in The States I caught up on all of the TV we can’t get on AFN (American Forces Network a.k.a the only version of very basic cable we get). This primarily consisted of my guilty pleasure of anything on Bravo, but much more constructive was watching Food Network. During Trisha Yearwood’s show I saw an easy recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup, which I immediately looked up and pinned for later.
Upon arrival back in Riyadh I started thinking about what I what meals I could cook and freeze to make my life easier. After having The Gents I hardly cooked. I was exhausted from working and nursing them, what felt like constantly. Back in Arlington, we had the luxury and convenience of countless dinner options outside our door, which is no longer the case. Now that I’m not working and only have one baby to nurse, I guess I don’t have much of an excuse to not cook. HA!
So now it’s time for me to get a little more creative and plan even more. We try to eat relatively healthy, save for the the sweet treats my mother sends in her care packages. For weekly meal prep, and to get a number of different meals, I often make up a bag of mixed greens for salads, roast a tray of various veggies (with the cooler temps I don’t mind the oven being on), cook a protein and grain, and make a jar of salad dressing. Of course some nights JR comes home not feeling like veggies or pasta (which we often enjoy as well), so it’s nice to have options at the ready in the freezer. I usually have beef and bean chili, bolognese sauce, and recently added meatballs, as well as our favorite chicken enchiladas to the freezer menu. This soup would be a great addition to the freezer menu.
When I took a look at the Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe, although it’s really simple and all of these items can easily be found in any American grocery store, a number of items I actually can’t get at the local Saudi market. I could get them at the commissary, but that’s a 40 minute trek. It’s such an inconvenience for us to get out there that we only go once every two months to stock up. So on the fly I’d have to improvise a bit with this recipe.
The cooking lesson here, even if you’re not living half way across the world, is that recipes are mere guidelines. Unless I’m baking, I don’t measure anything precisely. I often omit ingredients I don’t have or care for and add others that suits our tastes. Like the other recipes I’ve posted here on MSTB, have fun with it and make it your own. I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do. It’s now one of JR’s favorites. Thanks Trisha! xo
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP/CHOWDER (MAKES 10, MEAL SIZE, SERVINGS)
To preface, this is not a traditional chicken tortilla soup. It’s so yummy, but with the cream base I think it’s much more like chowder. So the tortilla chips and sour cream are totally optional. Corn bread would be really good accompaniment to this.
INGREDIENTS
Chicken bouillon for 6 cups of water (or pre-made chicken broth)
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 whole roasted jalapeno, or whichever chili pepper you prefer, finely chopped (optional)
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups half-and-half
1 cup prepared salsa
8 ounces finely grated mixed cheddar cheeses
Two 15-ounce cans black beans, drained
Two 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained
Two 15-ounce cans whole kernel corn, drained
Mexican seasoning (Lawry’s Carne Asada is now my favorite, but a fajita seasoning packet I’m sure is fine, too.)
One 16-ounce bag tortilla chips (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
In a 3-quart pot, place the chicken breasts and bouillon. Cover with 6 cups of water and boil until cooked through, about 5 minutes (or longer depending on the size of the chicken breasts – Saudi chicken breasts are small). Take the chicken breasts out of the broth. Set the broth aside. Allow the chicken to cool and then shred. Set chicken aside. Side note – broth is hard to find here, but bouillon is much more common in KSA. You could just buy chicken broth, but since the chicken needs to be boiled it was easy enough to make the broth instead.
Roast the pepper on your stovetop (gas work better but electric is fine) turning it to get an even char. Remove from heat and use the blade of your knife to remove the skin. You can also cut it open to remove the seeds if you’d rather not have the soup too spicy.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, 5 minutes. Add the garlic toward the end so not to burn. Add the flour and stir well, cooking for 1 minute more. Add the broth and the half-and-half. Stir in salsa, chicken, beans, corn, and roasted chili pepper. Add Mexican seasoning to taste (I eyeball about a tablespoon). Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Add more seasoning, or salt if needed. Continue to simmer for at least another 15 minutes to let the flavors meld together.
Crumble the tortilla chips into individual bowls and top with a couple ladles of soup. Add a dollop of sour cream and serve.
Storing and reheating
I let the remaining soup cool and then I divide it amongst 4 plastic containers, essentially 4 full ladles in each container, and freeze. One container is one dinner for me and JR. When it’s time to reheat I put the frozen block in a 3-quart pot and let it thaw on a low simmer so it doesn’t burn. This usually takes about 30 minutes to thaw and warm through.