Food Bloggin'

I've been rediscovering the joys of cooking this week. I'm no chef, but with the help of recipes found on pinterest I have made some tasty meals. I enjoy hearty meals, so this cooler weather as autumn begins is the perfect time for me to start making excellent dinners.

When Darla and I went to the Oregon owned grocery store I bought Gorgonzola cheese and locally made sourdough bread. Together they make a delicious grilled cheese, which I like to consume along with apple cider. Actually this meal is about the only thing I want to eat now. 

I also used the Gorgonzola to make Rosemary & Gorgonzola stuffed chicken breast (with a balsamic sauce). Click here for the recipe. I had boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but it worked anyway and was still a delight for my taste buds. 

I enjoyed the chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and rosemary green beans. I was out of regular milk, so I had to use almond milk for the potatoes, which didn't affect the taste much, but the texture was weird.  

I needed to cook the rest of the chicken before it went bad, so I decided to make a soup that I could reheat and eat for several meals. The result was this delicious chicken tortilla soup. I'm going to include the approximate recipe because it is tasty and also because I just made this up as I went along.  

Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients*
(makes 5-7 servings)

48 oz chicken stock
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1.5 cups brown rice
1 pack taco seasoning
1 can seasoned black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
fresh cilantro
Mexican cheese (opt)
sour cream (opt)
tortilla chips (opt)

This would make a great crock pot meal, but I don't have one, so here's how I did it:

1. Pour chicken stock into soup pot and add chicken breast.
2. Cook on medium-high heat until chicken is done.
3. While that's cooking dice up some fresh cilantro. (I used about a quarter of a cup.)
4. Remove chicken breasts, shred meat and place back into pot.
5. Add taco seasoning, rice, beans, tomatoes, and cilantro.
6. Continue cooking on med-high heat until rice is mostly done, then reduce heat to very low and allow to stew for two hours.

I recommend serving with a sprinkling of cheese and dollop of sour cream on top, with a side of tortilla chips.

*I would also recommend adding 1 can of southwestern style corn, but I didn't have any on hand.