Toe in the Kitchen Tuesday

Title: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tried it: This has been a family favorite for over three years now.

Source: Some magazine--Mom cut it out and we cooked it first on our speical dinner day for mom. original the recipe was for 20 servings-- below is a fourth of that (still enough for a family of four, seconds, and leftovers)

Easiness: 3 stars. I buy rosettary chicken already cooked. Half the items (the corn, broth, green chiles, black beans, and tomatoes) come from cans. Onions and garlic both need to be perpared (though this is easier if you mince the garlic in a garlic press and cut the onion in discs and chop up with a food chopper).

Rating: 5 out 5. One of my favorite dishes and the leftovers taste as good as the first night.

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

1 medium size onion cut into meidum dice

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons of chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 28 ounced can crushed tomatoes

1 pint of chicken broth

1/2 16 ounce package of frozen corn

4 ounce green chilies chopped

15.5 ounce can of black beans

2 cups of shredded, cooked chicken

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)



Heat oil in large soup kettle over med/high heat.

Add onions and saute' until tender (4 minutes)

Add garlic cloves, chili powder and oregano, saute' 1 minute longer.

Add tomatoes, broth, corn, chilies, beans and chicken.

Bring to a simmer.

reduce heat and simmer, partically covered to belnd flavors, about 20 minutes

Stir in cilantro

serve warm with tortilla chips

Sunday Quote

Every man is the son of his own works.

-Miguel de Cervountes

Miguel de Cervountes (1547-1616) was a Spanish author. Not only did he write Don Quixote (considered by many to be the first modern novel), he also was a novelist, poet, and playwright.

Finanical Wednesday Advice From Jean Chatzky 2010 Calendar

If you read the same magazines every month, it's time to pick up the subscription. You can often save more than 50% off the cover price.

Which I did with Juxapoz--an art magazine with its figure on the pulse of whats happening in the United State art world. Although it seems that it mainly focuses on the LA and New York scene, they do interviews from different locations. Juxapoz was a serendipitous find from my one month obsession of Matthew Gray Gubler. His sketches were apparently featured in Juxapoz last year.

Toe in the Kitchen Tuesday

Title: Chicken Mozzarella
Tried it:1/22/11
Source: Campbell Casseroles: Great for Cooking
Easiness(out of five starts: 5-the only way to make this more easy is not baking at all)
Rating (out of five stars): 4 stars on taste
Full time: 25 minutes

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning or dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups corkscrew-shaped pasta (rotini), cooked without salt and drained

1. Place the chicken in a 11x8 inch shallow baking dish. Stir the soup, Italian seasoning and garlic powder in a small bowl. Spoon the soup mixture over the chicken.
2. Bake a 400*F for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken. serve with the pasta.

Review: Like all the recipes in this book, the Chicken Mozzarella had three steps and less than seven items. This makes this the ideal type of book for beginning cooks. Also, the recipes do have the 'out of the can/out of the bag' approach to cooking, which makes it less time consuming and simple. Since I'm not a huge fan of tomato soup in general I was expecting this to be less than great. But doctoring it up with a little bit of spice and the garlic powder, really picked it up. I think I made way too much pasta for the amount of sauce we had... I am not even included it the next time I make this. Mom also enjoyed it.

Finanical Wednesday advice from Jean Chatzky 2010 calendar

Balance your long and short term goals to be sure your retirement is covered. When saving for a house, you can cut backon your retirement contributions, but don't stop making them altogether.

Sunday Quote

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

--Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is best known for his activist work againist South Africa's racial segregation laws. After sending 27 years in prison, he become the president in the first fully representative democratic election in South Africa. Mandela has recieved the Nobel Peace Prize and over 250 other awards.

Finanical Wednesday advice from Jean Chatzky 2010 calendar

It may sound premature, but it's important to teach your kids the expenses that come with a credit card. Run some numbers so they see how the interest adds up if they only pay the minimum amount.