Chicken Corn Chili and Cold Weather Recipes

On Monday, it was at least 85 degrees... and then yesterday and today, the temperature hasn't gotten out of the 40's and 50's... welcome to Arkansas! :) But I'm not complaining! I LOVE the cooler weather and it has me thinking blankets, fires, warm drinks and soup! Here is one of my new favorite soup recipes... I found it in the Food Network magazine! Enjoy!

Chicken Corn Chili

Ingredients:

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large jalapeño pepper (1/2 chopped and 1/2 sliced)

1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles

1 t. ground cumin

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

2 15-ounce cans large white beans (I used cannellini beans)

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup shredded monteray jack cheese

sour cream (for serving)

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, chopped jalapeño, green chiles and cumin and cook, stirring, until the cumin is toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, chicken, beans and corn. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and 1/2 cup of cheese. Divide among bowls and top with remaining cheese, sour cream and sliced jalapeños.

Not very photogenic... but I promise it was delicious!

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And just for fun, here are a few other cold weather (stick to your ribs) recipes that I have posted in the past...

Chicken Tortilla Soup

White Hot Chocolate

My Favorite Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Chicken and Dumplings

Biscuits and Gravy

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Taco Soup

Cilantro-Lime Chicken Soup

My friends at Southern Living tweeted this morning that February 4 is National Homemade Soup Day... which is very fitting since it seems to also be turning into a national snow day! Evan and I are both home QUITE early from work due to the snow... and although this isn't on our menu for the day (because I don't have the ingredients at home), I thought I would share one of my favorite homemade soup recipes with you. I got this recipe from my Aunt Sally and my cousin, Chris, a few years ago when they made it for our family Thanksgiving dinner (my dad's side of the family always has mexican food for Thanksgiving... which I think is a very fun tradition :)).

Cilantro-Lime Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 T. chili powder

2 chicken breast halves, cut into pieces

5 cups chicken broth

1 cup frozen corn

1 C. petite diced tomatoes

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro sprigs, tied with kitchen string

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Directions:

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add chili powder; stir 1 minute. Add chicken; cook, stirring 2 minutes. Add broth, corn, tomatoes and 1/2 bunch cilantro sprigs to saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Discard cilantro sprigs. Add chopped cilantro and lime juice to soup. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with sour cream. Serve with tortilla strips.

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Happy snow day from the big brother and thank you for your sweet comments and prayers that "little brother" will come home soon! :)

Minestrone Soup

We had soup for dinner last night... at the request of my sick husband. But this would also be a great recipe for those of you with snow on the ground! :) I served our soup with garlic cheese bread.... the frozen boxed kind! haha I actually have a secret love for that stuff because my mom never bought it when I was growing up but I would always have it at friends' houses and LOVE it. I mean, I know it comes out of a box (and it's not exactly healthy), Mom, but that stuff is good! haha

Anyway, here's the recipe! There is a lot of chopping to do but everything else is pretty simple... and healthy... to balance the bread from a box! :)

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/4 head of cabbage, chopped

1 can white beans (I used cannellini beans)

1 can diced tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth

1 parmesan rind

1 cup ditalini pasta

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute garlic, carrot, onion, celery and cabbage in a pot with a little olive oil. Add beans, tomatoes, chicken broth and parmesan rind and simmer for 20 minutes. Add pasta and simmer until tender. Add salt and pepper and serve.

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And Mom, if you're reading this, I know that you didn't buy boxed bread because you were always making something homemade that tasted WAY better and that you totally would have bought boxed bread if you had known that I liked it! haha

Anybody else have a secret guilty pleasure? :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Today's post comes from some quality time that I've been spending with my mom lately. And today's recipe comes from a cookbook that I gave my mom for Christmas a long, long time ago... and it's a delicious recipe if I do say so myself.

A few days ago, my mom called me because she was in a time crunch and she needed some help. She needed to make two recipes of tortilla soup for a women's dinner that she was going to and also one recipe of tortilla soup to leave at home for my dad and brother to eat... and she only had about an hour to cook! haha She told me that if I would come help her get all of the soup cooked in time that she would give me the leftover ingredients to take home and cook for our dinner. Obviously, I would have helped her without the incentive but tortilla soup did sound delicious and free ingredients are always nice! :)

*****Rabbit trail... but speaking of my mom, she was my running (and by running, I mean walking) buddy in the Race For The Cure this past weekend and we had the best time! :) Evan, my dad and our little Westies stood on the sidelines to cheer us on! Here is one of the very few pictures that we took and unfortunately, we forgot to take one with the boys in it!*****

And here's the recipe... without a picture... but with a promise that you'll love it! :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles

1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken (or turkey)

4 cups chicken stock

1 (10 oz) can tomato soup

1 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. lemon pepper

2 t. chili powder

2 t. worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

5 corn tortillas

vegetable oil

1 or 2 avocados chopped

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream

Directions:

Combine green chiles, tomatoes, onion and garlic in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken, chicken stock, tomato soup, cumin, lemon pepper, chili powder, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Simmer, covered for 1 hour. Cut the tortillas into strips and saute them in a small amount of oil in a skillet. Drop tortillas into soup. Heat for 10 to 20 minutes but do not boil. Place the avocados and shredded cheese in soup bowls and ladle the soup into the bowls. Garnish with sour cream.

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And finally, if you want to make this soup in style, then you'll head on over to my friend, Lindsey's, blog and enter her giveaway for a fabulous soup pot. I am actually drooling over the pot myself, but since I won her last giveaway, she told me that I wasn't allowed to win this time! haha :) The giveaway ends today, so hurry over and check it out!

White Chili

If you follow me on Twitter then you know that Evan and I went to the Carrie Underwood concert on Tuesday night... and LOVED every second of it! But we stayed up way past our bedtime and we were both exhausted on Wednesday so I needed a SUPER easy recipe for Wednesday night's dinner... and the first recipe that came to my mind was White Chili. I mean, the hardest part is opening the cans... it's almost shocking how fast you can have dinner on the table with this recipe! Oh and it's also delicious and very comforting while being healthy all at the same time! Can we say, "Keeper"? :)

White Chili

Ingredients:

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans great northern beans

2 cans chopped green chiles

2 cans chopped cooked chicken

1 small onion, diced

1 t. garlic

1 1/2 t. cumin

1 can green chile enchilada sauce

Directions:

Pour all ingredients into soup pot and simmer until hot. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired.

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Here are a few pictures... you'll have to forgive this meal for not being super photogenic... since that's it's one and only flaw! :)

If you couldn't already tell, this recipe is definitely one of my favorites! Give it a try on your next busy night! :)

Pray For Us Friday

Pray For Us Friday is back!!! And I am SO excited about it!!

Today we are praying for...

Anna Kintigh and her family

In October of last year, Anna's husband stepped down from his pastoral position because the church that he was serving in was having financial problems and they could no longer pay his salary without cutting the funding for missions.

Since that time, he has been working for Anna's parents as he tries to find a new pastoral position. In addition to the job search, they have been trying to sell their house since last September.

About a week ago, the Kintigh's had their second interview with a church and they finally feel like this is where God wants them to be... but they still haven't sold their house.

Anna told me that she believes strongly in the power of having many pray on her family's behalf and I couldn't agree more! Please join me in praying that the Kintigh's house will sell VERY soon so that their whole family (they also have 2 small children) can be together and settled in a new home when Anna's husband begins his new position!!

And here is the recipe that Anna shared with us!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken, cooked and cut up

2 t. oil

1 cup chopped onions

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can of whole tomatoes with juice

1 (24 oz) can tomato sauce

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup frozen corn

2 t. ground chili powder

1 t. salt

2 t. dried basil

2 t. ground cumin

2 T. diced canned chilies

2 T. lime juice

1 can black beans

Directions:

Add all ingredients into a pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. If you like a bolder taste, you can add ingredients into a pot or crock pot and cook for longer. Garnish with Cilantro, cheese, sour cream, salsa and chips.

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Anna, thank you so much for sharing your prayers and your recipe today. We will definitely intercede on your family's behalf and thank God for answering your first prayer of finding a new church home and a new position for your husband!

Please let us know when your house sells! :)