Tortilla White Bean Chicken Soup

3 chicken breasts
3 cans white beans, drained
1 jar salsa
2 c cheddar cheese
1 T cumin
2 cans chicken broth
1/4 c cilantro
2 T lime juice

Garnishes:
tortilla chips
sour cream
sliced avocados

Place the chicken breasts into a large pot with the broth and salsa.  You may need to add extra water if the soup is too thick.  Let the chicken simmer until it is nearly cooked through.  Add the canned beans, cilantro, lime, and cheese to the soup.  Remove the chicken pieces and shred or cut into chunks.  Place back into soup.  Season soup with cumin, salt, and pepper as desired.  Serve with garnishes!

Easy California Chicken Marinade

1 c soy sauce
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter, melted
1 t dry mustard
1/4 c water
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into strips

Place all of the marinade ingredients together in a ziploc bag or tupperware.  Add the chicken, marinade for up to 12 hours.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a greased cookie sheet or stone.  Broil the chicken for 8-10 mins, or until the chicken is cooked through.  (Time will depend on how thick your chicken pieces are.)  Chicken can also be grilled.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

One of my new favorites (and my kids like it too!):

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c to 1 c salsa (verde or regular)
1 T lime juice
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
3 T cilantro, chopped
2 green onion stalks, diced
2 c cooked and shredded chicken
1 c cheddar or Monterey cheese, shredded
flour or corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425 and line a cookie sheet with tinfoil that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.  In a bowl, mix cream cheese, salsa, lime juice,and seasonings.  Stir to combine, then add cilantro and green onions.  Add chicken and cheese, combine well.  Place 2 - 3 T of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.  Roll it up as tightly as possible.

Place filled taquitos seam-side down on the cookie sheet, making sure they don't touch each other.  When ready to bake, spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and lightly sprinkle some kosher salt on top.  Place in a pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.  Serve immediately.  Taquitos can be dipped in salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.

New Favorite Dinner!

These turned out SOOOOO good!  Rave reviews from eldest son and husband, and trainer too.  (yes, I try to bribe them but it hasn't worked out very well thus far.)  They are even good the next day when they're are not so crispy, although I'm sure if you warmed them in the oven they'd be crispier than microwave-warming . . . . just sayin'.  Anyway, this is a recipe from one of my favorite websites.  I had a couple necessary changes, so those are in blue.  Seriously yummy. Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Flautas

1/2 c sour cream

1/2 c Lawry's Mexican Chile & Lime Marinade with Lime Juice, divided (I couldn't find this, so I used one of those powder mix envelopes that sounded similar--it was for a Baja Lime marinade for fish or chicken.  I mixed it up like the package directed, then used it for the sauce inside the flauta, some with the chicken, and some with more sour cream for dipping)

1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded

flour tortillas

1/2 t cumin

salt and pepper

1 c cheddar jack cheese, grated

1.  Mix sour cream and 2 T of the marinade in a small bowl.  Mix chicken and the remainder of the marinade in another bowl.  Set aside.

2.  Microwave tortillas until softened (usually only 10-20 seconds.  I actually didn't do this as I used them right out of the bag and they were fine.) : )

3.  Spoon about 2 T sour cream mix on tortilla, spreading across center.  Top with chicken, then about 2 T cheese.  Roll up tightly and place seam-side down on a baking sheet. (I used about 12 of the smaller-size tortillas and filled a cookie sheet.)

4.  Spray with cooking oil so they get crispy and bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until they are crispy and brown.  Serve with more of the sour cream sauce and/or guac and salsa.  Yum!

: )

Favorite Chicken Soup

Well, to be honest, this is my second-favorite chicken soup recipe.  The first goes something like this:  put a rotisserie chicken in the crock pot and cover with water.  Let it sit on low for a long time, then pull it out and shred the chicken.  Add salt, seasonings, sliced carrots, and noodles to the broth with the shredded chicken.  (if you're using the thick, homemade noodles.  If you're using regular ones, whatever the shape or size, wait until just before the celery so they don't overcook.)  Cook until the carrots are soft (this totally depends on your cooker and the heat), add the celery and in about 1/2 to one hour, serve and enjoy!

My second-favorite is a chicken and wild rice crock pot from "101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker".  Here you go:

1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c cooked chicken (or if you're in a hurry, 2 cans cooked chicken)
1 c carrots, shredded or sliced
1 c celery, sliced or diced
2 pkgs long grain and wild rice mix, with seasoning packets (i.e. Rice-A-Roni)
5 c chicken broth
5 c water

Now honestly, that seems like a lot of liquid to me, so I'm not sure I've ever used all 10 cups.  I just fill up the crock pot to about 2/3 - 3/4 full, and figure if it's thick I'll add more later.  You do need quite a bit for the rice to soak up and still be a soup, but I figure you can adjust that to taste.

Serve with warm bread and whatever comfort happiness you like best.

Enjoy!