Tonight's Dinner: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I'll be putting this in the crockpot in a few hours. I'm willing to bet that my husband and son will eat a bowl right after school, and another for dinner!

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth (or 4 cups water + 4 chicken bouillon cubes


• 4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts


• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed


• 1 can (14ish ounces) diced tomatoes or tomato puree


• 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chiles ("Ro-Tel")


• 1 large onion, chopped


• 2 garlic cloves, minced


• 1 bay leaf


• 2 teaspoons ground cumin


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1 teaspoon chili powder


• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper


• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder


• 8 white or yellow corn tortillas (6 inch size), cut into 1/4-inch strips

Directions

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add chicken and reduce to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes. While chicken is simmering, assemble remaining ingredients (except tortillas) in large slow cooker.

Remove chicken from broth, allow to cool enough to handle, and dice. Measure broth and add water if necessary to return to 4 cups. Add broth and chicken to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the tortilla strips on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes; turn. Bake 5 minutes longer. Discard bay leaf from soup. Serve with tortilla strips.

Today's Breakfast: Latte & Hot Cereal

Okay, I admit it: I don't always eat breakfast. Most days, I get up early to make my husband's espresso and get him out the door for school, and by the time he's gone and I've checked my email and made my to-do list for the day, I've already been up for several hours. About then my body starts begging for food, but I usually opt for leftovers from dinner the night before. I don't drink coffee every day - it can wreak havoc with my bipolar cycles - but I didn't get much sleep last night and I start a new session of classes today, so I needed it! Also, there were absolutely no leftovers from last night's dinner!

I've already covered espresso here, so I won't do that again. For something approximating latte (yeah, I know, it's not microfoam!), heat your milk or half & half in the microwave or in a saucepan. DON'T BOIL! Put in a jar, cap and shake well. Remove cap (carefully!) and pour the foamy milk into your coffee.

Sunny Morning Cereal

This is a great way to start your day. It has complex carbohydrates (if you use a whole-grain cereal) and protein for long-term energy, and will fill your belly and keep you feeling full for a good while.

This morning I made this cereal with Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Hot Cereal, but you can use pretty much any hot cooked cereal - Cream of Wheat/Rice, Malt-O-Meal, any of the Bob's cereals. I don't recommend it with oatmeal, but that's just me.

This makes one large serving.

Cook: 4 minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients

• cereal


• 1-2 eggs


• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 1 tablespoon raisins, dried cranberries, or other dried fruit


• sweetener and milk or half & half to taste

Directions

Cook cereal according to package directions, whisking in egg(s), vanilla, and fruit shortly after stirring cereal into boiling water. Sweeten to taste with your favorite sweetener (I like turbinado sugar or honey) and add a splash (or more) of milk or half & half.

Enjoy!