Instant Pot Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

OK, now this is not a 100% recipe you can make in the InstaPot, but I did cook the chicken from frozen in a broth that I also added to the saucepan on the stovetop.

I started this recipe with three frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs because they are more flavorful.

Into the InstaPot they went with 2 glasses of water and 2 tablespoons of Knorr chicken bouillon and one tablespoon of montreal chicken seasoning. This cooked on the meat setting for 30 minutes, then quick released after it was done.

In the meantime, on the stovetop, I placed my large saucepan with about 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil on low. I diced one sweet onion and  then simmered the diced onion in the oil and added kosher salt. Stir occasionally. After the onions become translucent (about 3 minutes) I added freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, and cumin to bloom the spices.

Then I added one can of diced tomatoes with the juice, and one drained can of kernel corn. 

I drained one can of cannellini beans and one can of organic black beans in the colander in the sink and ran water over beans until the water was clear. Otherwise, if you just dump the black beans in the pot without straining and cleaning them, your soup will turn an unappealing color of black/gray due to the little bits of beans left over from processing in the can. Don't skip this step.

Then I added the drained and cleaned beans into the saucepan. Add one tsp of taco seasoning.

By this time, the InstaPot will be done and you can fish out each cooked chicken thigh with thongs, placed it into a bowl and shred it before transferring it into the saucepan on the stove.

Then I found a soup ladle and added 3 ladles of the chicken broth from the InstaPot into the saucepan. Add no more than three three ladles and definitely not the entire thing otherwise your soup will end up being way too salty and greasy.

Add more water if needed so your soup is not so chunky.

Serve with crushed tortilla chips on top as a garnish or in the bottom of the bowl.

Note: I have family members who do not like green chiles, cheese nor cilantro but they could also be used as a garnish.

Instant Pot Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

3 frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 can kernel corn, cannellini beans, organic black beans - drained

1 can diced tomatoes, do not drain

Knorr chicken bullion

montreal chicken seasoning, taco seasoning

1 medium diced onion

3 tbsp canola oil

water

taco seasoning or just ground cumin or both

freshly ground black pepper

garlic powder

salt

Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

<3 <3 <3 I love this recipe because you prep/chop up everything in advance and pull it together layering as you go in the casserole dish. You don't even have to cook chicken yourself if you don't have leftovers. Today, I used two whole chicken legs, but you could easily use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shred it yourself instead. You could even make it vegetarian!

Shredded cooked chicken, about 3 cups

Diced sweet onion, about two cups

Shredded sharp cheddar (or fake cheese)

Chopped cilantro

one big can of red enchilada sauce

one bag of corn tortilla chips (no Fritos because they are too salty.)

one can of sweet corn, drained

one can of black beans, drained

one can of diced tomatoes with chopped green chilis, drained (brand name: Ro-tel or store brand)

and your favorite taco seasoning. One envelope, or about 2 tablespoons.

Garnish with sliced green onion before serving.

You're going to need an oblong glass or ceramic casserole dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In one bowl, add the drained corn, tomatoes with green chilis, and the black beans together with the taco seasoning and combine well. This is now called the canned vegetable mixture.

== The Layers ==

Place a layer of tortilla chips at the bottom of the dish. 

Then half of the canned vegetable mixture

Then chopped chicken

Onions

cilantro

cheese

tortilla chips

remaining canned vegetable mixture

then chopped chicken

onions

cilantro

Tortilla chips.

Open that big can of red enchilada sauce and stir it with a spoon in the can. Pour onto the cassarole.

Top with as much shredded cheese as you like.

Pop into a 350-degree pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Cilantro Lime Chicken

I have bought pre-prepared Cilantro Lime Chicken at Aldi's for, I don't know, $8-9 something before, but that's lazy because I know how to cook, right?

So instead of buying the premade in a vacuumed sealed bag stuff, I decided I have enough culinary skills to pull this entre off at home.

OK, so still shopping at Aldi's, limes were .35 each, and cilantro was around the same price. I know I have boneless skinless chicken breasts from Costco in my freezer at home plus additional lime juice from a previous purchase.

So I bought 2 fresh limes and one packet of fresh cilantro to add to the ingredients I already had on hand at home. 

I also bought white mini white corn tortillas at Aldis, too.

Prep:

Take two frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts and dethaw them in the microwave. About 14 minutes on the defrost setting.

I took the two limes and with a Microplane, I took the skin off (zested) of each lime and added the zest to a plastic bowl. Why plastic? Because it won't react to the acid.

Then I cut up the limes into thin slices and placed them into the same bowl with the lime zest.

I finely chopped the cilantro all up until I got to the stem part, and I threw the rest of the stems away.

Then I diagonally cut the cilantro and then a third time, cut the cilantro to get any other leaves that didn't get cut before, and I added this into the plastic bowl with the lime.

I took the now dethawed chicken breasts from the microwave, cut open the bags, and placed them on my cutting board. I cut each breast on the bias sliced about a quarter of an inch thick and then placed them into the bowl with the lime.

At this point, I added the additional lime juice, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper.

Then with a big plastic spoon, I mixed everything together and placed it into the refrigerator while I cooked the corn tortillas making them into taco shells.

 I added oil to my preferred frying pan to make taco shells in and I set-up a cookie sheet with 3-4 paper towels to catch the excess oil after the taco shells were cooked. Once all of the shells were cooked, I lightly salted them with table salt.

Cook:

I transferred some of the oil I cooked the tortillas into a larger frying pan that I intended to cook the sliced chicken and limes in. No, I did not remove the slices of limes before I cooked the chicken because I wanted to retain a strong punch of lime flavor.

I cooked this on medium heat for about 15 minutes until the juice from the chicken and limes were reduced by about half. Then I removed it from the heat to cool for about 5 minutes.

Serve:

I guess I could have used some hot sauce or pico de Gallo along with the cilantro lime chicken, but I was too hungry to care. My homemade cilantro-lime tacos were yummy!

Mexican Dirty Rice

1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp California garlic powder
2 cups cooked white rice
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) Ranch Style brand Pinto Beans with Jalapenos

In a large skillet on medium heat, brown ground beef with chopped onion and add seasonings. Continue to chop beef and onions with the edge of a spatula until cooked and a medium consistency. Remove from heat. Add the entire contents of the can of Ranch Style pinto beans (do not drain) and two cups of cooked white rice and mix together. Serve hot.

Yield: 4 servings.

Recetas De Lola

Recetas De Lola is a recipe I found on the back of a bag of Faraon brand Small Red Beans. I bought the beans at El Super along with jamon (ham) pieces.

Ingredients:
1 lb small beans
10 cups water
1/2 lb ham pieces (don't use more than this or your beans will come out too salty)
1 lb diced potatoes (Can omit this)
3 tbsp oil
1 chopped onion
1 diced green bell pepper
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 8 oz can tomato puree
1 bay leaf


Wash beans and soak overnight. Drain and rinse beans and then add 10 cups water and ham in large pot. Bring to a boil. In a frying pan, heat oil and saute onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoe puree and bay leaf. Cook until onion is translucent. Transfer to boiling pot of beans. Reduce heat and simmer for 90 minutes. Salt to taste.

Cozymel's Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cartons (32 ounces each) chicken broth
3 cups cooked white rice
1 large chopped tomato
1/2 cup diced brown onion
1 15 oz can corn kernels, drained
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp Morton's Nature's Seasoning
minced cilantro
crushed corn tortilla strips

Empty chicken broth into 4 quart saucepan. Heat on low. Add diced chicken.

In a grill pan, add canola oil and heat at medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add to saucepan. Add drained can of corn into grill pan and saute until grill marks appear. Remove from heat and add to saucepan. Add chopped tomato, minced cilantro and three cups of cooked rice to saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve and garnish with crushed tortilla strips. May also be garnished with avocado wedge, shredded cheddar cheese, diced green onion, a wedge of lime or sour cream.

Serves 4-6.

Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe from someone at work. She said it was supposed to be from Weight Watchers.

1 pound of ground beef or turkey
freshly ground black pepper
3 cans chili beans (any kind), drain
3 cans diced tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
1 can of corn, drain
1 can of diced green chilis
1 package of taco seasoning
1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce

1 package of hidden valley ranch salad dressing (sub soy sour cream + finely diced chives)

Garnish: Cilantro, tortilla chips and cheese (sub soy cheddar) to taste.

Directions:

In a large saucepan, brown meat seasoned with pepper and onions, drain, Add canned beans, veggies and seasoning. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add 1 tsp of prepared dressing and garnish with cilantro and cheese and tortilla chips to taste.

Fajita Marinade

1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. vinegar
1/3 c. lime juice
1 lg. onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tbsp. paprika
1 can beer


This recipe is OK for marinading either 2 lbs. skirt steak, boneless chicken breast or pork tenderloin. Add meat and then all ingredients into a plastic zip lock bag and let stand in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.

If you want to make this recipe for just one pound of meat, half the measurements on the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, onion, garlic and beer, but measure out the spices as listed.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp oil
1 envelope taco seasoning
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 small can (4 oz) chopped ortega green chilies
12 corn tortillas
1 large can (28 oz) red enchilada sauce - traditional style
2 cups longhorn cheese, course grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet. Add onion and saute until translucent then remove from pan. Add chicken breasts and cook for 10 minutes on each side then add chopped green chilies, onion, taco seasoning and 3 tbsp water. Shred chicken with a knife and fork and cook for another 10 minutes while mixing occasionally

Heat one corn tortilla in a hot skillet or in the microwave wrapped in a wet paper towel for 10 seconds to make it pliable. Take one large spoon of shredded chicken mixture and put it in a line the middle of the tortilla and then roll the tortilla. Place the roll in a glass casserole dish with the loose side down. Do this 11 more times or until the chicken mixture is gone making one layer of rolls in the bottom of the casserole dish. Pour on top 1 can of red traditional enchilada sauce and then top 2 cups of course graded longhorn cheese.

Place casserole dish on bottom rack in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Judi's Fish Tacos

8 Van DeCamps breaded fish filets, baked
1/4 head of green cabbage, cored and sliced very thin
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 limes, quartered
6 taco sized flour tortillas
Louisiana Hot Sauce, to taste

Cook breaded fish filets to the instructions on the box.

While fish is baking, cut up all vegetables and place it separate bowls.

Build fish taco with one piece of fish on one tortilla, 2-3 tablespoons
of cabbage, a teaspoon of cilantro, a bit of green onion and some hot
sauce to taste. Squeeze one piece of lime onto fish. Enjoy! Serves 3-4.