Mexican Chicken Soup

It's been a long weekend. On New Year's Day, we picked my sister and her boyfriend up from the airport. After their five day journey in Europe, they planned on staying in Atlanta for the night, fixing brunch, and heading back to Jersey. What really happened was that Tiffany and I (me being the su chef) cooked lunch. And by "lunch" I mean a meal with five different dishes served at around 3:30. We ate a lamb roast with sides of browned rosemary potatoes, green beans, asparagus, and baby bok choy. For dessert, we lounged in front of the end of some action movie with cups of hot cocoa.

I am never sure how Tiffany and I manage to cook for so long in our mother's kitchen. My mother's two bedroom townhouse is adorable, but the kitchen is truly a 1-butt kitchen. We don't always time the preparation of the dishes just right, and cooking seems to be punctuated by other random activities like showering, wii breaks, drama, and grocery store runs. Maybe I should change my statement to I am never sure how Tiffany and I cook so much food together in such a small space in such a short amount of time. Ha.

After returning from Mom's house, Nick and I settled into watching The 7 Year Itch over a bottle of prosecco and a few late night snacks. Today was the last day of the NFL's regular season, so we piled up cooking supplies and headed to a friend's house for the game. After using most of my cooking skills up on Saturday, I thought soup might complement my energy level and warm up the 30-something-degree day outside. I made this recipe after combining it with a few recipes I've tried. I am not sure what makes it "Mexican," but I am sure it has something to do with the cilantro and the warm spices.


Mexican Chicken Soup

* 1 package (around 1 lb) chicken breast
* 2 tablespoons EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
* sea salt
* ground pepper
* 2 average sized onions chopped
* 1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
* 2 carrots if large or 3 carrots if small, chopped
* 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
* 1 box of GF chicken stock
* 1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
* 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
* 2 tablespoons chili powder
* 2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
* 1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
* Optional for serving: sliced avocado, corn tortillas, grated cheddar, tortilla chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts to taste, and place on a baking pan, covered with aluminium foil. Bake until cooked through, about 30-35 minutes, while prepping the remaining ingredients. Shred the chicken once it has finished cooking.

3. Heat the EVOO in a saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion softens.

4. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.

5. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with puree, jalapeno, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and coriander. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

6. Add the chicken and cilantro. Serve hot.