Hello! So, it's hard to believe that it's been nearly two years since I've posted in this blog. A lot has changed in that time. I am now finished with nursing school!! Praise the Lord! Now that I am finished with school, I actually have free time and can get back into this blog! One of the ways I dealt with the stress of nursing school was through cooking, and of course it was all Rachael Ray! Since finishing school I have also moved to New York! Always wanted to move somewhere else and now I have that opportunity! I've only cooked a few times here but decided tonight to get back into the blog so here is the first recipe to go in..."Chicken Tortilla Soup with Chipotle and Fire Roasted Tomatoes".
So first off is the chicken. Couldn't be simpler. Take the chicken and place it in a pot with the chicken stock and a bay leaf. I suggest buying fresh bay leaf. They keep for forever in the fridge and give so much more flavor than dried. If you have dried and don't want to buy the fresh, by all means, use the dried, but I think you'll really like the fresh ones! Bring the chicken stock up to a gentle simmer, not a rapid, rolling boil. Because these are chicken tenders, they aren't going to take very long.
Next comes the soup. You start it with bacon. Let me just say, nothing smells better than bacon cooking up in a soup pot or skillet, but I digress. Crisp up the bacon and then take it out using a slotted spoon and drain all the bacon grease but a couple of tablespoons. Next you add in the onion and the garlic and let them cook until they are tender and the onions are translucent. Next comes the tomatoes and the chipotle peppers. The peppers are chipotles in adobe sauce. If you've never used them before these come in a small can. They are smoked peppers that come in a sauce made of of vinegar and spices. Most recipes call for 1 or 2 peppers and then you are left with the rest of them to figure out what to do with them.
Rachael Tip: Take the remaining peppers. Cut the end off and remove the seeds and the ribs (The seeds and ribs are where the heat lives in the pepper. Leaving them in may make them too hot for some peoples palates). Once the seeds and ribs are removed, add the peppers and the sauce into a food processor or blender and process them. You may need a little water added as well in order to get the processor to process the peppers. Once processed, add them into a plastic food storage bag and freeze it. In the future when you need chipotle in adobe, you can cut off about an inch of the frozen mixture and toss it into whatever you are making!
Once you have chopped the two peppers for the recipe add them into the soup along with the fire roasted tomatoes. The recipe calls for crushed fire roasted tomatoes. Most grocery stores have either diced or crushed, not both. If they have crushed great, if they have diced that is fine too. The point is to use fire roasted tomatoes. At this point, the chicken should be poached and ready to use. You can either cube the chicken up or shred it. I enjoy it shredded so that is what i did. Add the shredded or chopped chicken into the soup and strain the stock through a strainer and add it to the soup. Mix everything together and let it simmer for a few minutes to combine all the flavors.
To plate it up, take a handful of tortilla chips and crush in the bottom of your bowl. You can use whatever kind you like. I love blue corn tortilla chips so that's what I used. Next add a layer of cheese on top. The recipe calls for smoked mozzarella. I LOVE smoked mozzarella so that is what I used. It just helps to reinforce the smoky flavor of the soup. If you don't groove on smoked mozzarella, any easy melting cheese would work such as white cheddar, monterey jack, or even manchego. If you do use the smoked mozzarella, put it in the freezer while you prepare the soup to let it firm up a little. It's a very soft cheese and can be a little difficult to grate. Ladle the soup on top of the chips and cheese. You can top with whatever you want. I top it with the crispy bacon, some more cheese, a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of italian flat-leaf parsley. The recipe calls for cilantro, but i'm not a huge fan of it when it's a garnish and the flavor comes through so strong. If you like cilantro however, go for it!
I've had this recipe for a few years now and had just never made it, but, glad I did! It's yumO! Hope you guys enjoy it! Until next time, happy cooking!
Recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-tortilla-soup-with-chipotle-and-fire-roasted-tomato-recipe/index.html
So first off is the chicken. Couldn't be simpler. Take the chicken and place it in a pot with the chicken stock and a bay leaf. I suggest buying fresh bay leaf. They keep for forever in the fridge and give so much more flavor than dried. If you have dried and don't want to buy the fresh, by all means, use the dried, but I think you'll really like the fresh ones! Bring the chicken stock up to a gentle simmer, not a rapid, rolling boil. Because these are chicken tenders, they aren't going to take very long.
Next comes the soup. You start it with bacon. Let me just say, nothing smells better than bacon cooking up in a soup pot or skillet, but I digress. Crisp up the bacon and then take it out using a slotted spoon and drain all the bacon grease but a couple of tablespoons. Next you add in the onion and the garlic and let them cook until they are tender and the onions are translucent. Next comes the tomatoes and the chipotle peppers. The peppers are chipotles in adobe sauce. If you've never used them before these come in a small can. They are smoked peppers that come in a sauce made of of vinegar and spices. Most recipes call for 1 or 2 peppers and then you are left with the rest of them to figure out what to do with them.
Once you have chopped the two peppers for the recipe add them into the soup along with the fire roasted tomatoes. The recipe calls for crushed fire roasted tomatoes. Most grocery stores have either diced or crushed, not both. If they have crushed great, if they have diced that is fine too. The point is to use fire roasted tomatoes. At this point, the chicken should be poached and ready to use. You can either cube the chicken up or shred it. I enjoy it shredded so that is what i did. Add the shredded or chopped chicken into the soup and strain the stock through a strainer and add it to the soup. Mix everything together and let it simmer for a few minutes to combine all the flavors.
To plate it up, take a handful of tortilla chips and crush in the bottom of your bowl. You can use whatever kind you like. I love blue corn tortilla chips so that's what I used. Next add a layer of cheese on top. The recipe calls for smoked mozzarella. I LOVE smoked mozzarella so that is what I used. It just helps to reinforce the smoky flavor of the soup. If you don't groove on smoked mozzarella, any easy melting cheese would work such as white cheddar, monterey jack, or even manchego. If you do use the smoked mozzarella, put it in the freezer while you prepare the soup to let it firm up a little. It's a very soft cheese and can be a little difficult to grate. Ladle the soup on top of the chips and cheese. You can top with whatever you want. I top it with the crispy bacon, some more cheese, a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of italian flat-leaf parsley. The recipe calls for cilantro, but i'm not a huge fan of it when it's a garnish and the flavor comes through so strong. If you like cilantro however, go for it! I've had this recipe for a few years now and had just never made it, but, glad I did! It's yumO! Hope you guys enjoy it! Until next time, happy cooking!
Recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-tortilla-soup-with-chipotle-and-fire-roasted-tomato-recipe/index.html
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