Tortilla Soup


oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (or use leftover cooked chicken or turkey)
salt
pepper
2 onions
5 cloves garlic
1 pound sliced peppers
1 cup chile sauce (like enchilada sauce, homemade or canned)
2 cups chili beans (pintos/pinquitos cooked in chile sauce however you like them, my barbecue beans are really good for this, I should post that recipe, too)
2 quarts chicken stock
1 pound corn kernels
1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
salt to taste

fried corn tortilla strips or crushed corn chips
sliced avocados
sour cream
chopped cilantro
lime wedges

Cook the chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper, in olive oil. Brown well and cut into bite sized pieces.

In a soup pot heat oil and cook onions, garlic and peppers until softened. Stir in chile sauce, chili beans and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, adding chicken, corn, ancho powder, cumin and oregano. Simmer, partially covered, until corn and chicken are heated through. Taste to season and add salt as necessary.

Serve with tortilla strips, sour cream, sliced or diced avocado, minced cilantro and a wedge of lime.


Mustard Glazed Corned Beef

4 pounds corned beef flat
1/3 cup grainy mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar

Cook corned beef on the stove or in a crock pot, with seasonings, simmering until cooked through. Remove meat from liquid and place in baking pan, removing any excess fat and placing fat side up. Mix mustard with brown sugar and coat the fatty side of the meat with the mixture. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Slice and serve.


Colcannon

6 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
1 stick butter
1 small cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
salt
pepper

Boil potatoes until soft enough to mash. While doing this, slowly cook cabbage and onions in butter, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and slightly browned. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mash potatoes and stir in cabbage and onion mixture. Serve.

You can also make this with kale, but it will need to be cut with the stems removed and parboiled before cooking it with the onion.


Roasted Carrots

10 carrots, scrubbed and cut into 2-3 inch pieces, then halved
olive oil
salt

Place carrots in a baking pan, drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 40-45 minutes, until soft and browned at the edges.


Picadillo

My friend Nora, who fled Cuba because of the Communist revolution there, gave me this recipe. She said that in some parts of Cuba, people fried cubed potatoes with the sofrito as well. We did not do that this time, but likely will try it in the future.


olive oil
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 sweet peppers (red or green, or both), seeded and diced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup (8 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup red wine
1 cup Spanish olives, sliced
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh pepper

Heat oil in a large frying pan, cook onions, garlic and peppers until soft and starting to brown, stir in vinegar and cook with vegetables as well. Add crushed tomatoes (or tomato sauce) and cook a minute or two to reduce the liquid. Add ground beef and brown well, crumbling the meat.

Pour in red wine, Spanish olives, raisins, salt and pepper. Combine well with meat mixture. Cook to combine flavors and achieve a nice texture to serve over rice with black beans, maybe five or 10 minutes longer.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen