Chili-Spiced Chicken Soup with Stoplight Peppers and Avocado Relish

Edwin and I recently tried out a fabulous recipe from Cooking Light. This is a take on Tortilla Soup, and we highly recommend it!

(For another tortilla soup recipe, check out this post from Mary Crocker Barnes: http://marycrockerbarnes.blogspot.com/2010/04/tortilla-soup.html)

Our soup has a great kick to it, and the flavors will leave you wanting more!! (I ate it everyday for lunch this week.) I swear, it is restaurant quality. Here's the recipe:

Spice blend:

2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander (I skipped this, it was like 5$)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used regular)

Soup:

1 tablespoon canola oil, divided (You need 2 tsp. first, then 1 more tsp later)

1 1/4 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips

2 cups chopped sweet onion

1 c. chopped red bell pepper

1 c. chopped green bell pepper

1 c. chopped yellow bell pepper

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups fresh corn kernels (I used frozen)

1 (32 oz) carton fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

1 (28 oz) can fire-roasted crushed (I got diced) tomatoes, undrained

2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

Relish: (I just put avocado slices and shredded monterrey jack on top, but this is from CL)

1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 c. chopped green onions

1 tsp grated lime rind

3 oz. queso fresco, crumbled

1 diced peeled avocado

How to:

1. To prepare spice blend, combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.

2. To prepare soup, heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick saucepan over med-high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle 1 1/2 Tbs spice blend over chicken. Saute 8 min. or until done; cool. Chop chicken; set aside.

3. Heat remaining 1 tsp oil in pan over med-high heat; add onion, bell peppers, garlic, and 1/2 tsp salt. Sprinkle veggie mixture with remaining spice blend; saute 8 min or until veggies are tender. Stir in chicken, corn, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 min. Add lime juice.

4. To prepare relish, combine chopped cilantro and next 4 ingredients (through avocado).

5. Ladle 1 1/4 c. soup into bowls; top with 1/4 c. relish.

Yield: 8 servings

Calories: 285

Fat: 9.6g (sat fat 2.1g)

Protein: 27g

Carb: 23

Info and recipe from Cooking Light. Let us know if you try it!! Bon Apetit y buen provecho!!

A Rib-Ticklin' Good Time

As you may or may not know, for my 23rd birthday, I decided to make a big boy purchase and get a myself a nice grill. I've never been a big fan of gas grills because (though it's more earth friendly) nothing beats the taste of food cooked in a charcoal grill. So I bought a Weber grill which has been nothing short of amazing.

This leads us to our post! "Cook This, Not That" has some great recipes for grilling. One of them was for Dr. Pepper Ribs. Buying a full rack of ribs at Outback or Chili's will set you back about 3,000 calories and a LOT of sodium. So unless you're Michael Phelps or an NFL offensive lineman, those delicious ribs can come at an unhealthy cost. Luckily, this recipe cuts the calorie count to less than 600 calories with a lower amount of sodium and only 5 grams of saturated fat. The trick is in the seasoning and making your own barbecue sauce. Without further ado, here is your shopping list:

2 racks of baby back ribs

1 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper

1/4 cup of salt

1 tbsp. of Chili powder

1/2 teaspon of cayenne pepper

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 of an onion, minced

1/2 tbsp canola oil

1 cup of water

2 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp of worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup of ketchup (preferably the kind with no high fructose corn syrup)

This dish tastes best when prepared one day in advance.

1. Pour out 1/2 cup of the Dr. Pepper, save it for the barbecue sauce.

2. Place both racks of ribs in a baking dish and cover with the rest of the Dr. Pepper.

3. Add the 1/4 cup of salt and let marinate for at least 2 hours of overnight. Leaving them overnight will allow the Dr. Pepper to really get into the muscle and make for really tender ribs.

4. When it's time to take the ribs out, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

5. Discard the liquid and pat the ribs dry. Rub both racks with the Chili powder. Place back on the baking dish and cover tightly with foil and into the oven they go. Bake for 2 hours.

6. While the ribs are cooking, start the barbecue sauce. In a sauce pan heat the oil and saute the garlic and onion. I had to remind myself of the golden rule after burning the garlic: LOW AND SLOW! I had no idea why I rushed, I had 2 hours.

7. When the garlic and onion are fragrant and soft, add the ketchup, vinegar, cayenne pepper, worcestershire sauce, and remaining Dr. Pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes until it thickens a bit.

8. About 30 minutes before the ribs are about done, preheat your grill. If you have a charcoal grill, place the coals on one side, leaving a cool side to cook. If you have a gas grill, turn on one side of burners to medium heat, leaving a cool side to cook.

9. When the ribs are done, cut in half and transfer to the cool part of the grill, meat side up. Smother them with the barbecue sauce and cover for about 20 to 25 minutes.

10. The last couple of minutes cooking, you can flip the ribs over and allow them to char just a bit.

11. Grab some paper towels and dig in!

Here are some pictures of our culinary adventure.

The pictures above are of the ribs. This picture is of Chelsea and Miles (my roommate) enjoying the ribs.

This picture is of another beer from the India Wells Brewing Co. It's called Lobotomy Bock, it's very high in the alcohol content but it's very smooth and if you like dark beers it's very good and a decent companion to the ribs.

Until next time, bon apetit y buen provecho.

The rumors are true...

As mentioned in the previous post, today we are blogging on pannini's. Recently (while Chelsea was in Wisconsin and I was trying to kill time) I made a great purchase at Barnes and Noble. From the Eat This Not That series I found a little cookbook (literally, it's pretty small) named Cook This Not That. It's a cookbook that gives you healthier recipes for your favorite dishes at chain restaurants. Most food cooked in chain restaurants come with ridiculous amounts of sodium and saturated fat. This book comes with recipes for those same dishes, only with better ingredients, less sodium and saturated fat, and sometimes at half the cost!

I like the book so much that I plan my grocery list around it. This week I decided to make Chicken Pesto Pannini's, similar to a Chicken Pesto Pannini from Panera Bread. And don't worry about not having a pannini maker, you can make a great pannini on a nonstick pan OR your George Forman grill. This is what you will need for 4 servings (you can always scale it down or make a sweet lunch for the following day):

8 slices of whole grain sourdough bread (7-grain, whole wheat, any-wheat works well)

4 Tbsp of Pesto

4 oz of fresh mozzarella (the fresh kind is expensive. If you're watching the budget get the Kraft stuff, it works just as well)

3/4 lb of cooked chicken (if you don't want to take the time to grill or cook the chicken, buy a rotisserie chicken and use breast meat)

1 red bell pepper (any pepper works, red peppers are typically really expensive)

Olive oil

Canola oil

1. Use a little bit of canola oil to cook the peppers (my new mantra is low and slow; low heat for longer time, it pays off to wait!)

2. When the peppers are done grab one slice of bread and spread 1 Tbsp. of pesto. Put the peppers on top of the pesto.

3. On the other slice place the chicken and mozzarella.

4. Use a bit of olive oil to coat a nonstick pan. Turn it on to medium-low heat. Put the sandwich on the pan. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until it's golden brown on both sides.

Cut in half and enjoy!

We've recently become fans of sweet potato fries, so we made some sweet potato fries as a side dish for our pannini... not sure if they're dishing this up in Milan or Macaroni Grill as a side dish, but it's worth some serious consideration. Here's the recipe for some sweet, sweet potato fries:

1. 2 medium sized sweet potatoes peeled and cut into fry size pieces. Really you can cut them however you'd like.

2. olive oil

3. cayenne pepper (optional)

4. salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. When you've cut the 2 potatoes place them in a baking dish and toss in olive oil.

3. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste

4. Sprinkle some cayenne pepper (optional)

5. Put in the oven for until they're crispy

Et voila! Here's a pic of what we made paired with this awesome beer we bought at the Whole Foods in Austin. It's by the India Wells Brewing Co. and it's called Orange Blossom Amber.

Bon apetit y buen provecho! Until next time.

Food Montage

Hi all. Wow. We have fallen off the face of the blog-o-sphere. Please forgive us. I can assure you, however, that we have not stopped eating. Some life highlights since our last post:

1. Chelsea went home for Easter!

2. Edwin and his knee are recovering nicely.

3. Edwin and Chelsea went floating down a river last weekend and starting speaking Spanish with Italian accents.

4. Chelsea and Edwin have started watching Glee. (Correction: Chelsea has gotten into Glee and dragged Edwin along, since he has cable and she does not. Correction #2- after talking to Edwin: Edwin is more invested in the current season than is Chelsea. Chelsea thinks Season 1 was better).

5. Edwin and Chelsea are counting down the school days til summer. 24.

Here is a photo montage of the food we meant to blog about, but never got around to....

Random taco dinner. Delicious.

Red Velvet cupcakes. Mix from Sprinkles, which is said to be a famous cupcake chain that Edwin and Chelsea were spotted at in October (in Dallas).

Stuffed chicken. Can't remember at the moment what it was stuffed with. Ah, yes: pretty sure it was spinach, cheese and red peppers. Edwin, correct me if I'm wrong. We used Panko bread crumbs, which are said to be better than other types. I can't remember at the moment why. (There is a theme here. Edwin is clearly the more descriptive food blogger. I prefer to eat the food.)

AH, a recent triumph! I made this tonight, and it was FABULOUS!!!! I bought a pre-made pizza crust (see Edwin's previous post about which one is good- that's the one I used). Then I brushed on olive oil, followed by a ton of spinach, roma tomatoes and feta cheese. Next I sprinkled basil on top, popped that baby in the oven for about 15 minutes and viola. Perfection.

Sweet Pea and Shiitake Risotto. We have made two different types of risotto now- the first time it had something to do with red peppers. The second time we used a recipe from Cooking Light. Risotto is super delicious and easy to make!!! Slightly putsy (someone told me this word is made up. Must be from Wisconsin??), but worth it. We will try to be timely about including a risotto recipe!!!

Alright, time to hit the hay. Edwin told me that he will blog tomorrow night (during Glee) about our dinner... I heard mention of panini's! Love to all. Bon Apetit!