Served with tortilla chips and/or with the following options: avocado, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, jalapeño (fresh and/or pickled) etc.
Prep time: 10 minutes – Cook time: 30 minutes – Serves: 4-6 people
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound of chicken breast (or protein of choice or leave off)
- 1 carton of broth (32 fl. oz.) vegetable, chicken etc.
- 26-28 oz. of strained or chopped tomatoes
- 1 large chopped onion or 1-2 tsp onion powder
- 4-5 stalks of celery (optional)
- 3-4 carrots (optional)
- 3-6 cloves of garlic or ½ -1 tsp of garlic powder
- 1 TBSP chili powder
- 1 TBSP cumin
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 TBSP paprika
- ¼ – ½ tsp of cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of pepper
- 2 15 oz. cans of beans of choice ( I usually do pinto and black)
- Tortilla chips
- Optional: corn, frozen or canned, whatever you got. I prefer my corn intake in the form of tortilla chips but my kids love to add a few table spoons of frozen corn, which also helps cool down a hot soup!
Garnishes: Avocado, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, jalapeños (fresh or pickled), chili flakes, hot sauce…
METHOD
- In a large 5 qt pan, pour broth and add chicken and cook over medium/medium-high heat. It should reach a steady normal boil! Not a crazy boisterous boil like when you’re boiling water for pasta…
- Chop onions, celery, and carrots. If using fresh garlic, chop or squeeze. Add all to pan.
- Add all the spices, salt, and pepper, and stir.
- Once chicken is cooked, about 15 minutes, use tongs to remove chicken and allow it to rest on a plate.
- Add the tomatoes and beans, and stir.
- Shred the chicken with 2 forks, as it can still be hot. Add shredded chicken back to the pan and stir.
- Soup is ready to serve. Garnish with your favorites and enjoy!!
A BACKSTORY ON SOUP? NAH… BUT WHAT IF I SPIN IT AND TALK ABOUT AVOCADOS INSTEAD?
Comfort food. This is such a crowd pleaser. The recipe is flavorful but mild, appealing to taste buds of all ages and development (like are we level chicken nuggets and French fries, or seared foie gras on parsnip puree?!) And with all the extras you can easily spice it up!
I make a vat of it every week, serve it once a week to my crew and then leftovers for a few lunches for me, until finished. The garnishes are delicious and I will go all out during dinner, as demonstrated in the first picture with the excessive cilantro. But for lunch I just take my little pan and heat and eat.
Let’s talk avocados.
My love for avocados started way back in the 80’s. My very hip and ultra-chic mom, would grace our dinner salads with it, and also roasted pine nuts. So simple but oh so flavorful.
The taste of a perfectly ripe avocado immediately takes me back to 1986. Where my days consisted of going to elementary school, playing outside, dancing to my 45 records of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and Mel & Kim’s “Respectable.” Making mix-tapes, pretending to be a Radio DJ, and eating those salads with avocado.
It is fascinating to me, how certain sounds, smells, and tastes, instantaneously evoke certain memories! I have a few very distinct ones. And yes, I’m sharing them with you…
For example, peeling an orange. I always think of my maternal grandmother, Omie. Observing her hands while she ritualistically peeled an orange, was mesmerizing and soothing. When the skin tears and you begin to smell the fragrance, it will still put me at ease, and will always make me think of her.
Anyway back to avocados. When we moved to Texas, I was introduced to guacamole. Well, howdy to you new friend! Our love is still going strong.
Here are my tips, I discovered by accident, kinda like they did with penicillin. Ha.
TIP 1: When you buy avocados and they are still hard, place them next to apples. They will ripen in one day, maybe two. As soon as they are ripe put them in the fridge, in the vegetable or fruit drawer. The ripening process will drastically slow down and they can last at least another week. Honestly, I’ve had them last as long as three weeks because I forgot about them and they were still ok. Not perfect but edible. HELLO GUAC!
TIP 2: The endless list of how to best preserve a cut avocado can be simplified to one line item. Just leave it. If you only need half, use the half without the pit first. You can put the other half with pit in the fridge or leave on the kitchen counter. A very thin layer is created, sealing off the avocado. When you want to use it, just peel or slice it off. Nature is beautiful.
I have a few dear friends who hate avocado, so I dedicate this to them. Lynda, Ashanti, salut!