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Mar-12-2007 00:11

So, if I have to eat one more grilled chicken breast, one more bowl of spaghetti with jarred marinara sauce, one more taco with the crispy shell-that-came-out-of-a-box, I'm going to impale myself on a spork.

So here's my idea: everyone has to eat, right? And I'll bet almost everyone out there in Sleuthville has a favorite. A sure-fire, go-to, I-have-the-ingredients-in-my-house-at-all-times winner of a meal. I say, let's share. Cuz I think my family will kill me if I serve them chili again, uh, ever.

Simple, complex, fancy, casual - bring it on.

I'll start...

Mar-12-2007 00:17

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups diced tomato (I use a can)
vegetables (carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, whatever)
2 tsp chile powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 cup hominy (again, a can)
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
5 corn tortillas, misted on both sides with oil

Heat the oil in a heavy pot. Add chicken and saute until lightly browned; add onion and stir until softened. Add garlic, vegetables, tomato, seasonings and hominy. Cook for a couple of minutes to concentrate flavors. Add broth and simmer for 20 minutes.

Bake the tortillas in 375 degree oven until crisp (about 10-12 min.) Crush half the tortillas into the soup. Stir in and simmer for 15 minutes.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with remaining crushed tortillas.

Mar-12-2007 01:01

Uh, sorry. Guess I should do a search next time. :)

Mar-12-2007 01:14

If you did, I bet you'd be the first to type "haute cuisine" in the search field :)

I have heard of this sopa de pollo con tortillas of which you speak and have always been intrigued.

There's never any reason to apologize when you post about food. These sloots is hungry sloots :P

Mar-12-2007 03:12

lol more like crunchy is a hungry crunch...

unfortunately i don't have ingredients in my house all the time, not enough cupboard/refrigerator/freezer space here... someday i'll be able to share something.

Mar-12-2007 06:04

oooh, sounds yummy! Needs cheese though. Everything needs cheese. I might just make this one of these days except: What is hominy, and where do I find it? Is that like grits? Almost impossible to get grits in Canada. Cornmeal an acceptable substitute? Or am I just an idiot and there's a huge hominy aisle at the supermarket I just keep missing....

Mar-12-2007 06:05

Oh and for dinner tonight we're having Hungarian Goulash. I'll post that recipe up on the other recipes thread.....

Mar-12-2007 10:41

Ara, hominy is dried corn kernels. You can buy them dried and rehydrate them yourself or you can buy them canned in a liquid. You can find ground hominy that would be similar to grits or cornmeal, but I think this recipe needs the whole variety. You might find it in the canned vegetable aisle.

Mar-12-2007 11:29

Hm, interesting. Thanks Sunny! I've never come across it, but will have to keep an eye out next time I go grocery shopping.

Mar-12-2007 12:50

Yes, it's in the canned vegetable aisle, on the bottom shelf with things no one buys. If you can't find it (though it's really yummy), you can substitute corn kernels.

Mar-12-2007 15:58

Somewhere down the road, someone's gonna see "dried corn kernels" and try just throwing a fistful of unpopped Orville Redenbacher into their soup :P

You might need to go off the beaten supermarket path for that one...try like Latin American markets, that kinda thing. Start here:

http://www.elchasquilatino.com/servicios/MercadosLatinos.htm

It might be labelled 'posole' or 'nixtamal', too.