Mexican Chicken Soup

I'm loving my internet cooking friends. Their recipes are tried and true and they are sure helping me out these days. I'm getting ready for the World Food Championships which is less than three weeks away and there is hardly any time to make dinner. But a gal's got to eat something other than desserts, right? So last night I made Laura Lynn Lopez's Mexican Chicken Soup and wowzer! is this a great recipe. She makes hers in a crock pot, but I put this together on my stove top in about 35 minutes. Here's the recipe with a few of my additions (and omissions):

Mexican Chicken Soup
Inspired by Laura Lynn Lopez
Serves about 6

2 Idaho potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2-1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie from my market)
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
1 can Campbells cream of potato soup
1 can Campbell's cream of chicken soup
1 4 oz can diced green chiles undrained
2 T minced fresh cilantro
1 package taco seasoning mix (I used Old El Paso Hot and Spicy)
3 cups chicken broth
8 oz sour cream (I omitted this ingredient but if I had some on hand I would have certainly used it)
4 oz jalapeno pepper Velveeta cheese cubed (I used the 2% plain because that's what was in my fridge)

Directions:
Cook diced potatoes for about 12 minutes on stove, starting potatoes in cold water. Drain and set aside. In large soup pot combine chicken, corn, both canned soups, chicken broth, cilantro, cooked potatoes and taco seasoning. Stir until heated and smooth. Now cook on low for about 10 minutes. Add your cheese and serve. Delish!

I just reheated this tonight and added some chopped bacon and home made corn chips as a garnish.
Thank you Laura, I love your recipes.  

Cinco de Mayo Burgers

There is nothing authentic about my Mexican cheese burger but it sure is a simple recipe and would be great for a crowd if you decide to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and do some grilling. I started with the guacamole. I bought one ripe avocado and a package of Holy Guacamole.

I diced the avocodo into bite sized pieces and squeezed a lime over it. I just love the combo of lime and avocado. Then I added the packaged guac, a sliced scallion and chopped cilantro leaves.

I put this into the fridge for a bit and went on to my hamburger. I only made one hamburger tonight because I was testing this recipe. So I formed a 1/4 pound hamburger and didn't fuss with it much. I sprinkled kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and Mrs Dash's Southwest Chipotle Seasoning on both sides.

While I was enjoying the aroma of the meat cooking on my indoor grill (3-4 minutes per side) I coated 1 side of each of 2 tortillas with sriracha sauce. If you don't have sriracha, use Pete's or Frank's. They'll work fine I'm sure.

 

I then added a slice of processed cheese to each corn tortilla. When I do this again, I'll go for a good Colby or Cheddar or something even more exotic, but the processed cheese was very doable.

Okay, so the burger is done and now needs to be nestled into the cheese covered tortillas. Let's put this together.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a tsp of butter (it really adds some good flavor) and a few tsps of canola oil in a sauce pan. Cook tortillas for a few minutes on both sides until cheese is melted and you can't wait to dig in.

And then top with the guac, and any other condiments you desire. I would have liked some olives and tomatoes, sour cream and maybe a spoonfool of refried beans. I know Dan Clark would probably add some crushed bacon, I would have too. But it's Friday night and shopping day is tomorrow.

It's a little messy so I cut mine in half but did end up eating it with my hands- guac sliding down my arms and beef juice as well. Messy or not it's a great little burger I know you'll love.

Ultimate Nacho Mac and Cheese

I've been under the weather for the last few weeks, and when I started feeling better, like wanting to eat solid food again, you know I went for the the most comforting thing I could think of, an ooey, gooey cheesy casserole. My friend Dana Ramsey made a dish called Nacho Mac and Cheese and that sounded right up my alley. But I took her recipe a step further and made her side dish a main course by adding seasoned ground beef and all the toppings you'd add to nachos. I also tried to cut some of the calories and carbs and was ever so happy with the results.

Ingredients:
Serves 6-8
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni, I used Dreamfields
1 pound 2% Velveeta cheese
1 can Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Chilis
2 tsp canola oil
3/4 pound ground sirloin
1/2 package taco seasoning mix
3 six inch corn tortillas quartered, I used low carb, high fiber
1/2 can fat free re-fried beans
1 small can chopped chilis
1 T Mrs Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning Blend

Toppings:
Use them all or choose your favorites
shredded iceberg lettuce
chopped tomatoes sliced olives
lite sour cream
chopped avocado
chopped scallions
chopped cilantro
salsa

Prepare elbows according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, brown meat and taco seasoning in canola oil and chop Velveeta into 1/2 inch cubes.

When pasta is done, drain in colander and place back into the warm pot you cooked it in. Add the chopped cheese, can of Rotel, seasoned beef, and can of chilis. Stir to combine and leave on stove top while you put together the bean nachos.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Take your corn tortilla wedges and spread with the re-fried beans and sprinkle each little chip with the Mrs Dash seasoning. Now you're ready to assemble the dish. Place warm cheese/pasta/meat mixture in casserole dish dusted with cooking spray. Top with bean coated tortillas. Here's the dish ready to go into the oven.

And here it is after it's baked uncovered for 25 minutes. Creamy, crunchy, toasty and oh! so good.

The beauty of this casserole is that the top becomes crunchy and the inside stays creamy. Serve this as you would any nacho dish- lots of toppings, so that with each bite, you can try something new. Dig in and enjoy!
I sure did.

Refried Bean Cakes

I've been enjoying my spicy little love affair with Tex-Mex cooking, so when Cooking Light had a 20 minute recipe for Black Bean Cakes in their September issue, I decided to give it a whirl. But I didn't have black beans. So I did a quick re-mix in my head and decided to use a can of fat free refried beans, add a few more spices to their already nicely-spiced recipe, and came up with a simple little ditty that took me a bit longer than the anticipated 20 minutes, but well worth the extra 10 minutes.

Refried Bean Cakes
Inspired by Cooking Light
Makes 4 patties

1 large egg lightly beaten
1 16 oz can refried beans- I used Old El Paso fat free
3/4 cup panko crumbs, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground chili powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 cloves of garlic grated
Canola oil for frying

In large bowl combine all ingredients except canola oil.

The mixture seemed a little loose, so I covered it with plastic wrap, and parked it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to set.

Remove from refrigerator, separate bean mixture into four portions and shape each portion into a 3/4 inch thick patty. Dredge in remaining panko and get ready for a quick saute. In large nonstick skillet add about 1-2 T canola oil. Add patties and cook three minutes on each side.

You can serve these with fried eggs and a salad as Cooking Light suggests. I gobbled mine down with some homemade pico de gallo, low fat sour cream and spicy sriracha sauce and loved every bite of it.

But the fun has only just begun, because tonight I think I found the real reason I made these bean cakes. These creamy, slightly spicy, healthy little darlings were meant to be married between 2 mini corn tortillas, stuffed with cheese, sriracha/mayo sauce and pico de gallo, then sauteed in a med/high skillet. Here's the procedure I used to make one:

Make a mixture of equal parts of light mayo and sriracha. Take 2 small corn tortillas (6 inch) and spread mixture on one side of each tortilla.

Now sprinkle a tablespoon of low fat shredded cheese over the sriracha mixture.

And cover the cheese with a bean patty topped with pico de gallo.

Top with a little more cheese, cover with second tortilla (sriracha side down) and press down slightly so the bean patty will spread to almost the size of your tortilla (it's that pliable). Spray cooking pan with PAM or similar product, heat burner to medium or medium high and add tortilla sandwich to the heated pan. Cook about 3 minutes, and right before you're ready to flip the tortilla, spray top with PAM. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Let cool a bit and serve with anything your little heart desires.

It's as easy as making a burger, but cheaper, healthier with a lot more crunch. I promise you, all of your senses will thank you.