Cugino's Chicken Enchilada Soup

Daddy Rating: 4

(I picked up this soup mix as a total after-thought while I was at the grocery store and, boy, am I glad i did! This made such good soup, it is going to become a go-to staple in our house! I deviated a bit from the instructions on the package by replacing 2c of water with chicken broth and adding tomatoes, but I LOVE chunks of tomatoes in my food, so I had to. )

Ingredients:
1 package Cugino's Chicken Enchilada Soup Mix
2 cups Chicken broth
4 cups water
1 15oz can tomato sauce
As many canned whole peeled tomatoes as you would like
Rotisserie Chicken - a much as you would like torn by hand and added to soup

For serving:
Shredded Cheese
Corn Chips
Yummy Bread

Bring water and chicken broth to a boil. Add soup mix, tomato sauce, tomatoes and chicken and let simmer, stirring occasionally for 25 min.

Of course our neighbor stopped by RIGHT when we were about to put dinner on the table, but no worries, I just kept the soup warm until he and hubby were done chatting.

I crushed up corn chips in the bottom of the empty bowl and added cheese, then I filled the bowl with soup. It was like a yummy little treat waiting at the bottom of the bowl. I also served with some yummy focaccia bread with jalapenos - YUM. The soup is thick, hearty and perfect for our drizzly evening, the best part - only ONE POT to clean.

I wish I had taken pictures, but my mom was over and I totally forgot. I brought some to work for lunch today and swore I would take a picture. Unfortunately I was so excited to eat it....I remembered to take a picture after I finished...



What was fantastic soup



Fish Tacos!

Daddy Rating: 4

I consider this one of my specialties. I think the idea originally came from an Everyday Food issue, but I have modified it and just make it without a recipe so I claim it to be my own. This is especially good for warmer weather because the oven doesn't have to be on too long, in fact you could do it all out on the grill if you wanted.

Ingredients:

Tilapia - 1 Filet=2 tacos, so get as much as you will need.

Sour Cream

Avocado

Purple Cabbage (it's just so pretty)

Shredded CHEESE

Fresh Tomatoes

Corn or Flour Tortillas (splurge and get the good gourmet ones - totally worth it)

Paprika

Olive oil

.5 teaspoon Ground Coriander,

.5 teasp Ground Cumin

Limes

Slice the filets into small chunks. On a foil lined cookie sheet, brush with olive oil. Line up the tilapia, brush with more olive oil and sprinkle with as much paprika as you want. Put under the broiler until fish is opaque.

Fish ready for cooking!

Chop all your fixins. Combine Sour cream with Coriander, Cumin, Paprika and lime juice - let this warm up to room temp so it isn't so cold on your tacos.

Yummy chopped fixins

My favorite is to warm the tortillas directly on the grill... there's just something super yummy about it. Combine all of the ingredients to your liking and ENJOY!

Always serve with a glass of wine.

This was my husband's FIRST plate...he made two more tacos after this.



Ro-Tel Quesadillas

Daddy Rating: 3

This is a fantastic, stand-by, go-to, yummy dinner. My sister discovered it on the back of the Ro-Tel can and shared the idea with me when I was new ideas. Two pans, kid friendly, easy clean up - Love it.

Ingredients:
- Canola oil (recipe calls for PAM spray, but oil is more yummy)
- Big can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chilies
- Roasted chicken
- Shredded cheese
- Med onion
- Burrito-size tortillas
- Guacamole

Easy Ingredients

Heat a little oil in a skillet and saute chopped onion until soft. Add can of tomatoes and shredded chicken into skillet until warmed.

Place tomato mixture on half of a tortilla and cover with shredded cheese and fold in half. Coat the bottom of a second 12"-ish skillet with oil and place filled tortilla in skillet. When it gets warm and the cheese melty, gingerly flip quesadilla in skillet to brown other side (I use two spatulas to achieve this task).

Eddie the dog wishing the Quesadilla to fall off the counter

Remove from pan to plate - cut into 3rds with a pizza cutter and serve with Guacamole. My husband was full from ONE of these, but I think he snaked on too much Chips and Guac while I was getting dinner ready.

Always serve with a glass of wine...or beer...or margarita

Super Good and Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

(Daddy Rating: 5)

I don't usually make a lot of soups because my husband is more of a full, hearty meal kind of a guy. But he actually LOVED this I think it may become a staple in our house. I got this recipe out of my latest Rachel Ray Magazine, she called it "Jane Fox's Famous Tortilla Soup". This makes pretty much, you'll have enough to bring for lunch the next day.

If you don't have a Dutch Oven, I highly recommend getting one - perfect for dishes that will sit and simmer for a while which happens a lot in my house!

Ingredients:
- Corn Tortillas (or corn chips out of the bag!)
- 4 tbsp Corn Oil (I used Canola)
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2-3 cloves garlic (I always use the kind in a jar)
- A handful coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 small can diced green chilies
- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes (I used the fire roasted kind, yum!)
- 1 rotisserie chicken (you won't need the whole thing, you'll have plenty left for lunches/snacks)
- 2 avocados (I didn't use this)
- 2 limes cut into wedges (I skipped this, too)
- 1 small red onion (didn't do this...there's already onion in it and I'm not chopping two onions)
- 2 large jalapenos, seeded and chopped (I didn't do this, there is already enough flavor)
- shredded cheese
- sour cream

Cooking the spices makes the house smell sooooo good.

In a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat, add oil, yellow onion, garlic, cilantro, bay leaves, chili powder, cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until spices are toasted and onion is soft (about 7 minutes or so). Add the stock, green chilies, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add however much chicken you want in the soup. I just tore it into big chunks. Reduce to a simmer until you're ready to eat!

Slice corn tortillas into strips and bake until crispy - OR open up a bag of chips...both work fine. Put tortilla chips on the bottom of the bowl, pour soup into bowls and top with cheese, red onion, more chips, jalapenos, lime wedges if you feel like it...again, I didn't have time for the additional toppings and it was still really, really good.

Always serve with a glass of wine.