Thursday, November 27, 2008

Barefoot Bloggers: Mexican Chicken Soup



Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! And since nothing says "Thanksgiving" quite like Mexican Chicken Soup, I am particularly excited about today's Barefoot Bloggers selection, chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats. I only have about a 50/50 success rate when I try to schedule posts (it's that darn AM/PM thing, it gets me every time!), so I am hoping that this posts on time. And I will look forward to coming around and seeing all of my fellow Barefoot cook's creations when I am back in front of a reliable (or any) internet connection!

This was such a great recipe. It is nice to see a tex-mex soup that is so relatively heavy on the veggies. Start out by sauteing onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and jalapenos, and then add your stock and seasonings:



I used leftover stock that I froze after making it for that awesome Butternut Squash Risotto. I tried halfheartedly to defrost it under running water at the kitchen sink, and then got lazy and just added the ice blocks to the pot. Can I do that? Well, I did. And my soup did not seem to suffer.



This is a wonderful soup, and a great addition to any "Mexican soup" arsenal. The flavors here were subtle -- definitely Mexican (I said "ole!" I really did!) but not overpowering. Cumin often seems to dominate in soups like this, but that wasn't the case here. Obviously, it can easily be spiced up to suit personal taste if you like a little more heat and a little less subtlety. Adding the corn tortilla strips straight to the broth is a brilliant idea -- it gives the soup a little extra "heft" without actually turning it into a heavy soup. I topped mine with copious amount of chopped cilantro, because I think cilantro makes everything taste better. David, on the other hand, thinks that cilantro makes everything taste soapier, so he skipped it. We ate this the first night I made it -- David is not as much of a "soup" person as I am, in the sense that I think when I make soup for dinner, he wonders where the rest of dinner is. But he definitely liked this, and thought it was a great appetizer course with some enchiladas! I gave some of it to my good friend and carpool partner, Elizabeth, and pretty much ate the rest of it myself over the course of a week. And this is such a healthy soup that I didn't even feel one moment of regret that I ATE THE WHOLE POT.

I hope that everyone is enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving day with their loved ones. I am thankful for the fabulous food, creative cooking ideas, and fun community spirit that I enjoy every day with my blogging friends. And I am thankful for the food on my table, the kitchen I have to cook it in, and, most of all, the family and friends with whom I am richly blessed to share it.

17 comments:

natalia said...

Ciao ! Happy Thanksgiving to you !

Suzie said...

Happy thanksgiving. We loved this soup too, and I am with you on the cilantro as well. I can't get enough of it.

Laura said...

Looks fabulous Cathy! I hope you and your family are having a good time on your trip! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving :-)

Audrey said...

I've seen so many recipes/variations for this soup and have never tried it...now I want to! (I'd be a cilantro skipper, though...but on the other hand, I am a soup-can-be-supper girl.) See you soon - hope you and your family had a wonderful trip.

NKP said...

Ate the whole pot! My hat is off to you, my friend.
We loved it too, and I definitely put ice blocks in my soups - hasn't killed me yet.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Deb in Hawaii said...

More cilantro is always the way to go! Your soup looks great--I loved it too. Happy Thanksgiving!

Jamie said...

Happy Thanksgiving...your soup looks delicious!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Cilantro is my garnish of choice when the menu says "Mexican". This soup looks great, and I'm in the market for a good healthy Mexican soup - I've made two Southwestern soups recently that have been suboptimal (will blog them eventually). Love the block of ice - I've totally done that. And I'm always getting tripped up with the AM/PM thing when I set an alarm clock. Always.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Nancy

Karen said...

I really scaled down when I made my soup - or I would have eaten the whole pot, too! As it was I just made enough for two bowls of leftovers.

Summer said...

Looks delicious. I say if you can go through the trouble of making your own stock, you can add it to the pot any way you want, even frozen.

Pamela said...

Hmmmm...I've never thought of cilantro tasting soapy. That's one tasty looking soup!!

Maria said...

I am always in the mood for soup!! Looks delish!

Mary Ann said...

I made this today and was surprised at how much I really liked it. It did have a great flavor and I was taken aback by how the celery and carrot really went with it. I really liked the cilantro too. I can never figure out how to schedule posts, but I think I am getting better at it. Glad you enjoyed your healthy soup- hope you get home safe!

Aggie said...

This was such a good healthy soup! I would have added frozen stock too! :)

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Cynthia's Blog said...

I made this soup too. I loved the corn tortillas too. The basic soup was good, but I think it needed some tweaking to make it awesome. Your post was well done!

Anonymous said...

I love cilantro - in soup, pesto, salsas. It sure is hard to grow - gets pretty wild and spindly. All the more reason to eat it up.

Speaking of kitchen tools, do you have any good ideas as to what else you can do with that little pump thing that takes the air out of those plastic containers?

Steph said...

I'm not much of a soup person either, but mostly the pureed kinds. I love chunky soups where you get to eat all the vegetables and meat. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 
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