Chicken Tortilla Soup

Okay so this might actually be the best recipe I have ever created! It has a lot of ingredients, but is super easy and one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted! It makes a pretty big batch, so you will have plenty of leftovers to enjoy!!!

Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes
2 poblano chilis (optional, 1 for less spicy)
1 1/2 onions
5 garlic cloves
4 corn tortillas
2 32oz containers chicken broth
2 chicken breasts
1 taco seasoning packet
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup monterey jack cheese
1 6 oz can tomato paste

Toppings:
Cheese
Avocado
Crushed Tortilla chips or homemade tortilla strips
Lime

Directions:
In a large skillet, char the tomatoes, onions with the skin, poblano peppers, and garlic with the skin for about 5 minutes on each side or until brown.  Don't worry if it gets very dark.  This is flavor!

Remove all of the vegetables and remove the skin of the onion and garlic.  Cut the vegetables up into smaller pieces.  A few cuts should do the trick.  No need to finely dice!  Put these in a large pot with 2 32 oz containers of chicken broth, half of the taco seasoning packet, and the tomato paste.  Stir and allow to cook on medium high heat for 45-50 minutes or until vegetables become very soft.  After about 30 minutes, chop up the 4 corn tortillas and put them into the soup! I know this sounds weird, but you are thickening the soup this way!

In another pot, put the chicken breasts and fill with water so that the chicken is just covered.  Stir in the second half of the taco seasoning packet.  Cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until chicken becomes tender.  After 30 minutes, shred the chicken and put it back in the pot of seasoned water on medium low heated until needed.

In the same large skillet you charred the vegetables before, char the corn now.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until corn begins to turn brown.  Set aside.

After about 50 minutes of the vegetables cooking in the chicken broth stir to check for tenderness.  If they are tender, in small batches, blend them in the blender.  Once everything is blended, but it back in the pot and allow it to cook for another 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, not you can add your corn, shredded chicken, and one cup of monterey jack cheese.  Allow this to cook for another 20-25 minutes.

While the soup is cooking you can get your toppings ready.  Cheese is always great on the top.  I also like avocado! Don't forget to squeeze some lime on the avocado so it does not turn brown.

You can also crush up tortilla chips, but I made my own tortilla strips.  Slice a couple of corn tortillas into strips while a pot of hot oil is coming up to temperature.  About 375 degrees is a good temperature to fry at. Toss in the corn tortillas and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until golden.  Drain on a paper towel and season with salt as soon as they come out of the fryer.

Once the soup is ready, pour a big ladle full into a bowl and top with cheese, avocado, and those delicious tortilla strips! Enjoy!

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The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Pasta

Gnocchi with Pesto and Roasted Vegetables
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Orlando, FL

Gnocchi has always been one of my favorite pasta dishes because it is made with my favorite ingredient, potatoes, and I absolutely love pesto cause of its strong flavor.  So when I saw this I knew I had to get it! The roasted vegetables I thought would be a little weird, but they were honestly the best part of this dish!

The gnocchi are like little pillows sitting in your dish. Light, airy, and incredibly flavorful.  They are perfectly salted and creamy inside.  The pesto sauce was one of the best I have ever tasted.  It was such a bright green color and wasn't too garlicky.  You could taste every bit of fresh basil put in and the high grade olive oil used. The perfect amount of sauce was used so it wasn't swimming in a pool of sauce.  Now to the vegetables.  It came with plump mushrooms, broccolini, roasted eggplant, and cherry tomatoes.  The mushrooms were probably my favorite because they were so meaty and tender.  The broccolini was perfectly cooked and added an extra layer of flavor to the entire dish.  I usually am not a fan of eggplant, but this eggplant was amazing.  It had a sort of nutty, roasted flavor that I have never tasted before.  Since I hate tomatoes, I was not willing to give them a try, but they looked beautiful!

This dish was everything you could want in a pasta dish and more!

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English Muffin Pizzas

Ingredients:
4 English Muffins
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons pizza seasoning or oregano
salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split each english muffin in half and toast them in a toaster, toaster oven, or in the regular oven until they are lightly toasted. Each english muffin makes two "pizzas".  Then spread on a few tablespoons of tomato paste on each side of the english muffin. Lay 2 or 3 slices of cheese or a handful of shredded cheese on each side. I used sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, but grated mozzarella is fine too.  Then sprinkle with the pizza seasoning or oregano and a little salt.  Drizzle with a little olive oil.  Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.  Serve and enjoy!

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Lasagna

Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb lasagna noodles

5 cups tomato sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 lb ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 tablespoons parsley

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Once the water has boiled, add salt and the lasagna noodles.  They take about 10-12 minutes to cook.  Stir them every so often so they do not stick together.  Once they are finished cooking, strain in a colander and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Then separate the noodles and lay them over the sides of the colander so they do not get stuck together.  Be careful, steam gets trapped in between the noodles and will release when you separate them. 

I usually make a homemade sauce, but if you want you can use a store bought.  Heat it up for a few minutes in a saucepan beforehand.  In a large bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese.  Then add the egg and parsley.

In a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, pour a little sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Then layer 3 noodles across the bottom of the dish.  Take a few teaspoonfuls on each individual lasagna noodle.  Spread it across so the entire noodle is covered.  Then spoon sauce over the top of the cheese layer.  On the next layer, use 5 noodles and lay them in the opposite direction of the first layer.  You can cut off the extra and use that on future layers.  For the last layer, leave 3 noodles for the top.  Lay them on the previous layer and just pour sauce on top of that without any of the cheese mixture.  Sprinkle with a little bit of parmesan cheese.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 40- 45 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

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Tomato and Arugula Salad

This is a great refreshing summer salad.  It goes on the side of anything, or add some chicken to make it a main course!  I served this with my Caprese Burger!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
8 fresh plum tomatoes
2 cups arugula
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt
pepper

Directions:
In a bowl whisk together the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar vigorously until it comes together. 

Then cut the tomatoes into chunks.  I got about 8-10 chunks out of each tomato.  Add these to the dressing and stir.  Then cut the basil leaves into strips and toss in with the parsley.  Sprinle with salt and pepper.  If eating the same day, now is the time to add the arugula and stir.  If serving tomorrow let the tomatoes sit in the refrigerator with the sauce, but 1 hour before serving stir in the arugula. 

Let the entire salad sit for 1 hour in the refrigerator.  Then toss right before serving.  Enjoy!

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