Monthly, I get Cooking Light, and I've recently developed an obsession with their recipes. There are usually few ingredients and short cooking times. They have great seasonal recipes whether it is summer or fall, and they are generally unique - sloppy joes, but with a twist, for example. They're healthy and easy. Tonight, I tried a great fall comfort meal, chicken tortilla soup! Thanks, Cooking Light. I tweaked a few things to my liking though...
What you'll need:
6 inch corn tortillas
Cooking spray
5 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups zucchini, chopped (I got by with 1 large zucchini)
1 cup onion, chopped (I got by with half of a medium onion)
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon jalapeno, chopped (about half a jalapeno)
Freshly ground salt (I used sea salt)
2 garlic cloves, chopped very small, or minced
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
4 cups chicken stock (a 32 oz box is a little over 4 cups)
14.5 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
3/4 cup canned black beans
Rotisserie chicken (mine was 1.25 pounds, any more than this would be overkill)
1 avocado
1 lime
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 375. While it preheats, cut your 6 inch tortillas into 1/2 inch strips, and coat them with cooking oil. I used one tortilla per person! Once the oven is preheated, pop them in for 10 minutes at least.
2. Heat 5 teaspoons of vegetable oil (you could sub olive or canola as well). While the oil is heating over medium high heat in a large pot, prepare your vegetables. Chop 1 1/2 cups of zucchini, 1 cup of onion, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1 tablespoon jalapeno, 2 garlic cloves, and 2 bay leaves. Throw all of this in the pot with the heated oil, and grind salt into the mixture. Set a timer for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the timer goes off, measure 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder and 1 tablespoon ground cumin. Add them into the pot along with 4 cups of chicken stock and the can of fire-roasted tomatoes. Stir well, and heat until the mixture comes to a boil.
4. Once boiling, add in 3/4 cup black beans, more sea salt, and rotisserie chicken. The actual recipe calls for only 8 ounces. I bought a 1.25 lb chicken (ate probably 1/4 of it while I was preparing the food - it's dangerous), and used the rest in the soup (Jason wanted lots of protein). Any more than this amount of chicken would definitely be overkill, it was full of protein! You could of course prepare chicken breast for this as well, but I was being lazy! Simmer this mixture for 5 minutes.
5. While your soup is simmering for the last few minutes, prepare garnishes. A wedge of lime per serving, 1/2 chopped cilantro, and slices of avocado. Sour cream and cheese would also be good additions if you want some extra flavor! I stuck my tortilla strips back in the oven for these 5 minutes of simmering (the oven was off, but still lightly heated from earlier) to make sure they were perfectly warm and crispy when I served them.
6. Serve! Pour the soup into bowls, top with avocado and cilantro. Cut a slit in the center of the lime wedge so you can place it on the rim of the soup bowl! Put a plate under the bowl, and place tortilla strips on the plate, you can dip these into the soup like tortilla chips. Turn on the TV, wrap up in a blanket, and enjoy on a damp cold fall night!
Are you going to try this fall comfort food recipe? What are your fall favorite comfort foods? I'd love to see them!
Xo
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