It’s February: the dog days of winter. All the bills have come in now for Christmas. Your gas and electric bill is higher than normal due to less daylight and low temperatures. If you have children, registration is due for spring sports and summer camps. We know the price of everything has skyrocketed over the past year or so…and now eggs…EGGS are a Valentine’s meme due to how expensive they have become. I’m going to share some cost-saving recipes and measures as it’s all about stretching your dollar this month!
In my first post of the month, I shared my fantastic homemade stock recipe. While my last post used some of the chicken, it’s now time to use some of the stock along with the remaining 2 cups of chicken. While chicken salad is something you’d automatically think to make with leftover chicken from stock, this recipe takes that chicken to the next level. Once you pair it with some diy seasoned tortilla strips, and a fancy drizzle of lime crema, you feel more like you’re in a restaurant than trying to save money this month!
Tortilla Soup
You’ve saved some coinage by making your own stock and re-using the chicken. Use those savings for adobo seasoning, crema, and avocado. You’ll have leftover corn tortillas, but don’t let them go to waste! You can make my birria tacos, or steak tacos, or now that you also have adobo, some of my homemade classic nachos.
Onion, diced
Red pepper, diced
1 Chipotle in adobo, minced
Garlic clove, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
14 oz can of Ro-Tel (diced tomato w/jalapeño)
4 cups chicken stock
~2 cups pulled chicken
2 corn tortillas, sliced into ½” wide 3” long ribbons
Adobo seasoning
1 avocado
Lime
Mexican crema
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Cilantro, minced
In a pot, heat some oil over medium heat and saute the onion with a pinch of salt. Once beginning to soften, add in the garlic, chipotle, and spices and stir until fragrant.
Then, add in the can of Ro-Tel and chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heatr Once boiling, stir in the chicken with a heavy pinch of salt and black pepper. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, toss your cut up tortilla strips with ~2 tsp oil and season liberally with the adobo. Place in an even layer on a baking sheet and set in a 350 degree oven until crisped, about 10 minutes.
While the tortillas bake, combine the juice from half the lime with about ⅓ cup of crema and mix well until combined. Slice your avocado and sprinkle with the remaining lime juice to prevent browning.
When the soup is ready, taste for any final seasoning needs. Portion out into bowls, garnishing with the herbs, green onion, crisped tortilla, avocado and lime crema.
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Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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