Chipotle Chicken Soup

Yes, lately I have been on a Chipotle kick. I love that smoky flavor that complements many different foods. This is a recipe I featured in the Local Joe last week. It’s super easy and can be adjusted to fit your own spice level. Chipotle chiles are packed full of flavor, so you only need a little bit to create lots of flavor. If you are a spice wimp, you may want to decrease to only one pepper and scrape the seeds out before chopping. Have it as plain soup without chips and avocado or turn it into awesome tortilla soup with tortilla chips, avocado and cheese, if desired. Works great for a crowd too. Just make a big batch of soup and let guests add their own chips and desired fixings. To make this recipe even easier, use meat from a precooked rotisserie chicken. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped, green may also be used if you can’t find red
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped small
• 1 small jar picante sauce, 8 oz size
• 2 chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• Tortilla chips and sliced avocado for serving, if desired

Directions

Heat oil in dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat. Cook pepper in oil until browned and softened. Reduce heat and add broth, chicken, picante sauce and chipotle pepper. Bring up to a simmer and cook until chicken is thoroughly heated and flavors have blended. Remove from heat and add cilantro and lime juice.

Ladle soup into bowls over tortilla chips and top with avocado slices for serving. May also be topped with a little cheese as well. Try cheddar or monterey jack cheese for a great flavor combination.

Note: If you have food allergies to corn, you can use baked flour tortillas strips or brown rice tortillas strips. You can also leave the tortillas out altogether. It’s still very tasty as is.

© Copyright 2012, Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, reprint or repost without permission. Get printer friendly  version here.

I recently shared this recipe in the Local Joe newspaper here in my home city. It’s getting to that time of year. Down here is Texas it starts to get hot, hot, hot about this time of year. Who wants to heat up the kitchen or stand over a grill or smoker all day to make a tasty meal. This recipe is one of my family’s favorites. The sauce was developed to accommodate my food allergy children. I’m a big believer in everyone eats the same thing. So, it has to not only be allergy friendly, but tasty as well. I generally use corn-free organic ketchup for this sauce, but please feel free to use whatever you have. This recipe is also so simple that you won’t believe how easy it is. Plus, you don’t have to stand over the stove all day to make it. This recipe makes a lot, so invite some friends over and have party! However, extras can be frozen and saved for later.

Ingredients:

2 lb boneless pork loin roast

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

1/2 ground black pepper

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

6 tbsp brown sugar

4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

4 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 med onion, sliced into thin rings

pickle slices

favorite buns or rolls for serving

Directions:

Place pork roast, 1 cup water, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until pork is tender. Drain liquid. Shred meat with two forks.

While pork is cooking, combine ketchup, 1/2 cup water, brown sugar, vinegar, celery seed, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper in saucepan. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add sauce to shredded pork in slow cooker. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low. Cover and continue cooking for 1 hour.

Serve on buns with onions and pickles.

*If you like saucier sandwiches or just like to have a little extra on the side, just double, or even triple the sauce ingredients. Stir some into the meat mixture for cooking and reserve the remainder for serving. You also may need more sauce for cooking if you have a bigger roast.

Get printer-friendly version here. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear from you.

© Copyright 2012. Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, repost or reprint without permission.

This tasty recipe was featured in an early April edition of Local Joe where I guest publish once a month. These beans feature authentic cuban flavor, but easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry black beans
Salt (see instructions)
2 cups water
2 cups vegetable or low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
4 strips uncooked thick-cut bacon, chopped, or salt pork
1 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cups cooked long grain rice

Directions:

In large bowl or container, dissolve 4 1/2 teaspoons of salt in 8 cups of water. Add dried beans. Allow to soak at room temperature for least 8 hours or overnight. Rinse and drain.

In large dutch oven, heat olive oil, add bacon and cook until browned. Add bell pepper, onion, cumin and oregano. Cook until vegetables soften and begin to break down, about 10 minutes. Add garlic. Cook and stir 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in water and broth. Add beans, salt and bay leaves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add vinegar near end of cook time. Adjust salt as needed. Serve over rice with toppings as desired. Delicious served topped with sliced scallions and a squeeze of lime.

*To make this dish vegetarian, omit bacon and add 1 teaspoon smoked paprika to the seasonings. Increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Makes 6-8 servings as a main course, 8-10 as side dish.

**You can also make this a one pot meal by cooking rice in with the beans. At about the 50-60 minute mark when beans are beginning to turn tender, pour beans through a strainer reserving liquid in large bowl. Return beans to the pot. Measure liquid and add enough broth or water to make 2 ½ cups. Pour liquid back into pot. Add ½ teaspoon salt and the vinegar. Add in 1 ½ cups uncooked rice. Bring back to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Get printer-friendly version here. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear from you.

© Copyright 2012. Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, repost or reprint without permission.

In case you missed this recipe that was published in the March edition of MansfieldNOW Magazine, here it is. Lemons are so great this time of year and lemon poppyseed is such a classic combination, that it’s hard to go wrong with these. This recipe can also be made sugar free and without poppyseeds. Just see the adjustments below.

Ingredients:
2 cups gf flour blend
3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp guar gum
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup grapeseed oil, or other vegetable oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with paper cups.

In medium bowl mix flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking soda, salt and guar gum with whisk or spatula until combined. Stir in water, oil, lemon juice and lemon peel. Mix well just until lump free.

Divide batter among cups. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and top is golden brown. Cool in pan just until cool enough to handle. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 12 muffins.

Notes:
*This recipe can also be made sugar free. Just substitute favorite sugar substitute according to it’s instructions for sugar replacement. My favorite is granulated xylitol.

**To make this recipe without poppyseeds, just omit and increase flour to 2 ¼ cup.

Get printer-friendly version here. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear from you.

© Copyright 2012. Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, repost or reprint without permission.

I make a lot of chicken in my house. It easy to come by and fairly economical as a meat source. Plus, my kids will eat it. However, I am always looking for new ways to utilize this staple and easy ways to cook it. This recipe is a super easy, tasty way to make chicken. If you are a fan of mexican or southwest food, you’ll love this one. I often serve it on Fiesta Fridays in my house or anytime I know I won’t have much time for dinner prep. You also don’t have to worry about overcooking the chicken really, since you WANT it to break apart.

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
oil for browning
1/4 cup gf oat flour
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes*
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 can pinto beans**

Directions:

Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet (enough to cover bottom) over medium high heat. Generously season chicken with garlic salt. Dredge in oat flour. Cook chicken a few minutes on each side just to brown. Cook in batches adding a little more oil if needed. Place chicken in crock pot. Scatter onions on top. Add cocoa powder, chili powder, cumin and cinnamon to tomatoes and stir to combine. Pour tomatoes over onions, making sure all the onions get wet. Pour in broth.

Cook in slow cooker on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. During last hour, stir in pinto beans and break up large chicken pieces. Serve as desired with rice and tortillas.

* You can also use regular diced tomatoes or fresh diced tomatoes. You will need about two cups fresh.

** If you won’t be home to stir in the beans, you can leave them out and serve on the side. My family likes the taste of the combined dish. Optionally, you can just omit the beans all together and use the chicken for tacos. Yum! For a lighter version, you can also use 1/2 chicken thighs and 1/2 chicken breast.

Get printer-friendly version here. If you try this recipe and like it, I’d love to hear from you.

© Copyright 2012. Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, repost or reprint without permission.