It's THAT Good: Tortilla Soup

I have searched for years for the perfect Chicken Tortilla Soup. A local restaurant in my home town (Elena's)  has the world's best tortilla soup. I make special arrangements to eat there every time I am in Beaumont. for years I have been trying recipes and variations of recipes and to no avail. UNTIL, I came across this one from Soup Addict... no crazy awesome introduction needed. (Yeah, it's THAT good)
 

(I added a little bit of paprika to this recipe instead of a jalapeno. I have used a  to go ready rotisserie chicken from the store and also boiled chicken. Both turned out equally delicious. And lastly, I use a lot more chicken stock, tomato puree and add some Rotel...I didn't list my changes in the recipe below)


Chicken Tortilla Soup

Soup
1	tablespoon	canola oil
1	tablespoon	butter
1	medium	yellow onion, chopped
1	rib	celery, chopped
2	cloves	fresh garlic, minced
4	cups	chicken stock
1		red bell pepper, chopped
1		poblano pepper or green bell pepper, chopped
1/2		jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely minced
1/2	teaspoon	salt
1/4	teaspoon	pepper
1/2	teaspoon	ground cumin
1/2	teaspoon	ground coriander
1	tablespoon	sugar
1	tablespoon	chili powder
15	ounces	can tomato puree
1	tablespoon	Worcestershire sauce
1	pound	cooked chicken, cubed or pulled
Cheese sauce
2	tablespoons	butter
2	tablespoons	flour
1	cup	heavy cream, half and half or milk
1/2	teaspoon	salt
1/2	teaspoon	pepper
8	ounces	cheese, grated (use your favorite or a mix of favorites)
Garnish
		Tortilla chips, crumbled (or if you can find them, tortilla strips)
		Sour cream
		Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)

1. Make the soup: Heat oil and butter in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté onions, celery and garlic until soft.

2. Add a splash of chicken stock, and then the red bell, poblano or green bell and jalapeno peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes to soften.

3. Add all of the spices (salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, sugar, chili powder), and stir until fragrant.

4. Add the remaining chicken stock, tomato puree and Worchestershire sauce. Mix well and bring to boil.

5. Add chicken, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes (or more – the longer a soup simmers, the better!)

6. Make the cheese sauce: Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in flour to create a paste.

7. Slowly add the dairy, stirring constantly, until a thick, creamy sauce is formed. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Add grated cheese and stir to completely incorporate into the sauce.

8. Add cheese sauce to the soup, stirring to mix well. The soup should now be creamy, but not necessarily spoon-hugging thick.

9. To serve: ladle into bowls, then sprinkle on cilantro. Add a spoonful of sour cream and top with tortilla chips/strips.

Sweet Potato Crusted Fish with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Dinner tonight was a home run. This word choice has nothing to do with the World Series being on tonight. (or does it?!) It was just a flat out delicious meal.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it was love at first sight. I knew that I'd be whipping it up in no time. You can trace the original recipe back to here. I did modify it a little because I cook for four other adults and a two year old. I added the modifications into the recipe I provided here. The instructions sound a little complicated, but once I did the first one, it was totally easy after that.

This blogger has a great selection of easy, delicious looking recipes. So far I've tried two and both have been crazy good! The other recipe I tried (Easy Cheesy Hot Bean Dip) didn't last more than 10 minutes around here. It was an appetizer of sorts. It didn't even last long enough to get a picture, but it is a great simple party food or appetizer for the family.  

My revisions to the original recipe are in bold. 

Here is my version of the main course.

  

It was a hit and it will gladly be put into the Baltzell recipe box.   

Sweet Potato Crusted Fish with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette:
2 cups fresh cilantro - packed (We LOVE cilantro!) 
2 medium cloves of garlic
2 limes- juiced (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup light olive oil (I ran out of EVOO, so used 1/4 EVOO and 1/4 Canola)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon scourcream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pinch of sugar (1/2 tsp)
(I had to improvise at the last minute because I was cooking for 5 and was afraid we would run our of dressing, so I added about half a bottle of ranch dressing to the final product. It did change the taste a little but it was still delicious, and definitely made it stretch.) 

Fish:
1 pound Tilapia, or any light flaky fish (Dolphin, Grouper, Snapper, Halibut etc... I used a family pack of tilapia and it was perfect)
2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded (I used 5 small)
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup flour - seasoned with a little salt & pepper
2 TBS canola oil (or any light oil) (I used 2 tbs per batch, and had 3 batches)
2 TBS butter

Salad:
Mixed Greens
Black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Can of corn drained
1 small-medium onion, chopped
1 cup of salsa

Directions:

Combine vinaigrette ingredients into a food processor, mini chopper, or blender and pulse until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

If serving over salad, prepare salad now so it is ready to go.

Mix the black beans, corn, onion and salsa in a bowl, set aside or refrigerate

Add flour to a pie plate (or any dish with sides) and season with salt and pepper. In another one, whisk together 1 egg plus 2 egg whites.

Heat a large skillet (one with a fitted lid) over medium to medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter plus 1 tablespoon oil (you may need extra if it's a large skillet - you want the entire bottom coated). Allow this to heat up.

Eyeball the size / shape of the pieces of fish and then, add a small mound of shredded sweet potatoes to the oil. About the same size & shape of the fish. (one mound for each piece of fish).

Quickly dredge the fish into flour mixture, then egg wash, and set on top of the sweet potatoes in the pan.

Repeat with each piece of fish. Top with additional shredded sweet potatoes, making sure there is a good even layer on top of the fish.

Cover the pan with a lid and allow to cook for 7-8 minutes (check after 5 minutes to see if the bottom is browning too much). When bottom has browned, they are ready to flip. Using a spatula, gently remove the pieces of fish from the pan (one at a time). Set on a plate for just a moment.

Add the last tablespoon of oil & butter to the pan making sure it coats the bottom of the pan evenly. Using the spatula, carefully (one at a time) flip the fish into the pan (uncooked side down). Cover pan with lid and allow to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes until done. (I almost doubled this recipe. If making more than a couple of filets, just repeat this step of adding oil before you flip the fish over with every batch. Doing this prevents the sweet potatoes from sticking to the pan and not the fish. The first batch I had one pretty side and one ugly side.)

The fish doesn't dry out due to the natural moisture in the potatoes! When both sides are browned, remove the fish fish from the skillet, serve over mixed salad, and then top with black bean salsa and cilantro lime vinaigrette.

Can't forget about dessert! Simple, and insanely delicious and totally perfect for a cold, fall night! I will probably be making it for every holiday party I attend...and then some! (no pictures, so sorry!) Found it HERE.

Healthy-ish

Here are some facts:

Small towns = a lot of fast food restaurants. VERY few restaurants offer any sort of health food value.  I flip out when I see a vegetarian or gluten free option. It just rarely ever happens.

Small town = most people live in a bubble of sorts and are not concerned whatsoever with what goes into their body. (not dogging small towns, I'm actually working on a 50 reasons why you should live in a small town... I might even make it specific to Centralia.. Stay tuned for that one) Because of the lack of interest in individuals, health food is not in high demand and as a result the selection at any of the local grocery stores is quite sad. 

Aldi is owned by the same company that Trader Joes is. 

There is an Aldi right here in little ol' Centralia. (hear the angels singing?!)

Hands down there isn't a grocery store within driving distance that can beat their prices.

They have a great selection of organic, healthy and gourmet foods.

Living a healthy lifestyle in a small town is a bit more challenging, but worth the pay off.

If you love to cook and explore new recipes then eating healthy instantly gets much easier.

Disclaimer: When I say healthy, I mean healthy-ish. In our family, we are by no means a strict diet type of family, but we always try to make good choices, and are always open to new strategies to help us maintain a healthy lifestyle. We snack smart, cook light, and usually have one meal a week where we are allowed to "splurge" and just satisfy a craving. Then there is my method of totally limiting my caloric intake during the fall season, so I can partake of as many pumpkin desserts as I want and still maintain my weight.

Here's what was for lunch today. All courtesy of Aldi. I was excited to see that they carry Greek Yogurt. I was pleased with the taste. The texture was a little bit more thin than typical Greek Yogurt, but it was still great. Added some granola cereal to it and drizzled some honey on top. It was perfect!

P.S. My pumpkin dessert of choice this week is the pumpkin pie mini blizzard from DQ. 

Oh.my.heck. 

It.is.so.so.so.good.

 ...it's a small town so OF COURSE we have a DQ. To balance out how many calories are in this closing statement, I will also add that the Centralia DQ also now has an Orange Julius attached to it, and who doesn't love a nice, refreshing and possibly healthy smoothie? (of course I am saying this BEFORE researching the health benefits... if there are any.)

Tomorrow is Friday my loves! 

Happy Weekend!