Chili's Enchilada Soup

I have to say, this is one of my all time favorite restaurant soups. I get every single time I go to Chili's. The first time I made a copy cat recipe was about 1999 and it was an absolute hit but it was painstaking and a lot of details and ingredients so I only made it a few times. So with the help of millions of mommy bloggers, the obsession with recipes and food networks and all that,there are a plethora of tweaked and scaled down versions of this same recipe and while I looked at a dozen, I still tweaked it to my own liking and I think it turned out smashingly! Here is exactly what I do:

I stew a whole chicken to make my own broth and have chicken for 2-3 recipes. I don't like this soup loaded with meat so I only use about a cup of shredded cooked chicken. So stew, boil, roast your chicken and get you a cup of it. I also do not spend the money on Masa Harina flour because I never use it and I've found it is NOT necessary. I ALWAYS have tortilla chips on top of the fridge. Those work perfectly in enchilada soup. I use about 20 round Tostito chips(any brand will do..this is just a size reference, you don't want too many because it will be too thick and TOO "corn" tasting.

I also use a stick blender to blend it until smooth...this is a HUGE help but not necessary, you can always use your blender. The stick is just a lot more convenient.

2 Tablespoons of oil
1 cup or one whole diced onion
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 28 oz can of tomatoes(crushed, whole, stewed, diced..any will do)
1 quart of chicken broth (homemade, canned, box...)
2 tsps. of chicken base(I use Better than Bouillon paste)
1 10 oz. can of red enchilada sauce
1 can of ranch style beans
20-25 round tortilla chips
1 tablespoon of Adobo
1 packet of Sazon (if you don't know what this is...get to the Hispanic isle and get you some to ALWAYS have on hand)
1 tsp. of black pepper
1 cup of diced, cooked, chicken
1 cup of shredded colby jack cheese

If you are THIS kind of cook...add more cumin, add more coriander, add more onion or garlic powder or whatever spice you want MORE of. I tweak with sprinkles of this and that if I need to. It's not an exact science and sometimes just throwing in similar spices will get the EXACT flavor you are wanting. ADD HEAT IF YOU WANT (I can't because of my little one

In LARGE dutch oven, soup kettle, TUB, heat the oil and add onions and garlic, Adobo, Sazon and chicken base. Cook until onions are soft (5 minutes). Add tomatoes, broth, enchilada sauce, ranch style beans and tortillas. Cook on med. high for 10 minutes. Blend all ingredients until smooth in blender or with stick blender. Simmer for one hour then add chicken and CJ cheese. Heat through and serve with tortillas strips and more cheese, sour cream, diced avocado, etc. (I leave out the lb. of velveeta that Chili's puts in their soup because of the fat and calories. It is creamier and richer with it so add it if you want. It's VERY VERY good but I think this is a little healthier alternative and just as tasty!

ENJOY!

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Here We Go!!!!

So- it's been awhile since I've been here. We left for vacation in Nashville and then headed down to the sunny Emerald Coast in Florida. WE had such a special and fun 10 days! We made it back after our trip through 8 different states and 14 hours on the road and got slammed with every kind of Christmas, holiday, cheer there was to have. Christmas parties and holiday events, Christmas programs and dance programs and school parties and shopping and wrapping and cookie parties and family get together's, a carriage ride through downtown to look at Christmas lights, SANTA and his cookies, reindeer and their carrots, squealing and jumping up and down, eating YUMMY food and laughing with family and friends. Ultimately giving thanks and saying thank you to the One that makes everything good in our lives possible. Jesus! JESUS! You are and will forever be our greatest gift and joy.

We have survived the last several weeks without sickness(knocking on wood now), without major upheaval and WITH lots of fun and love. I know precious families who have lost loved ones, right here at home. I am reminded of the horrible tragedy in Connecticut and those moms and dads that likely sat around at Christmas with the biggest hole in their heart. I've prayed for them and cried for them...those and the ones here at home. Loss is so great and it darkens the holidays...every year after. I pray that the love of God and light of Jesus will shine so brightly in their lives especially at the holidays.

SMASHBOOK DOODLE FOLIO

Smashbook page 1

We are in 2013...a date, as a child, that seemed from outer space but here we are. We survived the "end of the world" according to the Mayans..that wasn't so bad but yet we still have to face Obama and whatever his true agenda is. God help us. Protect us. I'll write more as the days come. I'm in LOVE with my new Smashbook! Go get you one...SO.MUCH.FUN!!! Here are pictures of our days the last few weeks! Enjoy and HAPPY 2013!!! May God richly bless you and your family!

Love, L

A little doodle I did for the inside cover of my Smashbook!

Telling Oscar goodbye...it was a little sad!

So pretty!

So happy it snowed Christmas Day!

CLEAN!(not for long)

Devon Energy Building GIGANTIC Christmas Balls they were SO cool!

OK Premiere Carriage...GOOOOOD People!

Sneaky Oscar helped us grow candy canes!

The BEST sugar cookies EVAH! Box of Funfetti Cake Mix and Follow these directions!

My new coffee TOY=LOVE

It's SNOWED!! So perfect!

New Year's Black Eyed Peas!

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Hi gang! I know it's been a few weeks but I'm back and busier than ever! I have to admit, I've never been a great lover of the Christmas season but since my daughter was born my disdain has turned to glee! I am LOVING it despite being busier than a one arm paper hanger!

Since our last visit, we have been through 8 states! Yep...Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas! We enjoyed restful and fun days in Tennessee and Florida and a pretty cool drive home (although my 4 year old would beg to differ). We stopped in West Monroe, LA to see our pals at Duck Commander! Met Jepeth Robertson and purchased some Duck Dynasty gear, we stopped at a road side stand in Mississippi and purchased Mayhaw Jelly, homemade, award winning, sweet potato pie, cajun dill pickles, freshly canned baby beets, homemade strawberry preserves, and hand picked, fresh, pecans. It was ridiculously expensive but even more ridiculously good!

It was a wonderful time with our Tennessee family(some of them live in Florida now) and I can't wait to do it again.

We are back in full swing of making home made gifts, hand made ornaments, decking the halls with boughs of holly, Christmas dance and singing programs(tonight), cookie decorating parties and I just made the commitment to have a KIDS ONLY New Year's Eve party. (WHAT?) 

Grammy and Papa are on their way to visit and I've been incredibly blessed the last few days as my dear sis in law has hauled our tails around town because "ol dutchie" (my 1999 Buick LeSabre) is very very ill and precious friends who have offered their vehicle for us to use for a few weeks! 

I'm overwhelmed with all the things I have to do in the next few weeks but even more overwhelmed at God! His faithfulness truly does endure and shows up in spite of who I am and how sorry of a daughter I can be! I know He loves me beyond my wildest dreams and ability to even process; cares for and blesses me despite what I deserve!  He so is the reason for EVERY good thing that happens to us.  I pray for His blessings to fall on you and your family right now. There are a lot of hurts and a lot of pain RIGHT NOW and I pray that God's love would permeate every soul and change it for the better.

Much love yo'!
Lana  

 

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The Dressing

Okay..let's talk about dressing. No..I don't mean Hidden Valley. NO! I don't mean putting on clothes. I'm talking about the all important Thanksgiving side dish that is basically the hinge that holds the meal together. Am I right? I mean who among us could HAVE Thanksgiving dinner without dressing?

I understand certain parts of the country call it stuffing. I don't. Stuffing means you've STUFFED something, somewhere and that is NOT dressing. Dressing is that scrumptious, velvety, warm and comforting stuff that DRESSES the sides of the turkey. Okay so now that we've established that...let's move on to the certain kinds of dressing. I know this is much like politics. The way dressing is prepared is of utmost importance to each family/cook/non-cooking but participating member of the meal. It incites a range of emotions when discussed. I will never forget the first year that I was not home for Thanksgiving and I was spending that day with beloved friends. They are southern, they'd grown up in the South, much like me, they understood all things country and as familiar and related as we all were, it never crossed my mind that the dressing would not taste just like Jackie Tuckers.(Lil grandma) Well..folks...I was rudely awakened upon arrival at the Thanksgiving feast to find that we were having LIVER DRESSING. L I V E R! I believe I snuck to the bathroom to call my mom, crying.  Anyhoo...we ate it, I ate it, it was GOOD..it really was..but it wasn't MY DRESSING, my Grandma's dressing, my mama's dressing. I vowed then to never live through another Thanksgiving meal without my dressing, even if I had to bring it in tote.

So over the years, I've made my own Thanksgiving meals...always with a pan of Grandma's dressing; not a Pyrex dish..no..no 9x13 glass dish. I'm talking a PAN. A large turkey roasting pan. Our family makes this size because the last Thursday of the month we will consume most of that pan, every day there after we will eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner until it's gone and then we grieve and tell ourselves every single year, "we can make a little pan of this throughout the year! Why do we only make it this one time?" And we never do. I think it's just supposed to be that way. I've had similar dressings in my life. I've had some that could rival Grandma's but never have I tasted any that was as good or made me feel like we were channeling her as we prepared it and ate it, as hers. I think too, this is meant to be. I'm going to share the precious recipe with you and I encourage you, if you don't yet HAVE a tradition of dressing, make it this one! You will NOT regret it. BUT...be aware...this recipe will NOT work unless you put a whole lot of love in it. That's the secret here.

 Grandma's Cornbread Dressing
1 recipe of cornbread- (you can use any homemade cornbread recipe just don't add a bunch of sugar if you are used to making a sweet cornbread..don't want that here)
1 large onion, chopped
one small bunch of celery, chopped(use ends and leaves for stock, at another date)
1 can of cream of celery soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
6 eggs
Turkey stock(may use chicken stock but homemade, rich stock is going to be the difference)
4-5 slices of toasted white bread
salt, pepper and TINY amount of ground sage(USE sparingly, can ruin the whole taste if you get too much)

Prepare cornbread (I usually do this the night before).  Chop onions and celery, cover in sauce pan of water and cook on low 1 hour or until very soft, drain and put in the container and store in refrigerator(do this the night before as well).  In large roaster, crumbled corn bread, add celery and onions and mix well. Throw in a dash of giant grandma hugs. Combine soups with cornbread mixture, stir until mixed well. Add enough stock so that mixture is fluid but not watery in any way. Consistency of creamy oatmeal. Add pieces of toast, salt, pepper, and sage (tiny shakes at a time)mix well **sage tends to lend a bitter taste so do NOT over season.  Add more turkey stock until it's a thick but creamy consistency. Bake uncovered at 350° for about 30 minutes or until dressing is browned on top and cake like in the middle. **The turkey stock that you've just drained from your golden yummy turkey is the BEST stock to use. It's rich with buttery goodness(if you buttered your tom before cooking) and seasoned perfectly. BUT..I've made it before with canned chicken stock and added butter to it with my own seasoning. It's still GREAT!

Love, L

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