Chicken Fajita Soup & A Vegetarian Version

We love all foods that are Mexican in our house. Tacos. Fajitas. Enchiladas. All of it. Sometimes it gets a little monotonous eating the same foods though–and that’s why I like to come up with what I refer to as recipe redos. If you are tired of making the go to dishes, like tacos and burritos, you’ll love giving this dish a try. I not only love Mexican food but am obsessed with soup. I literally could eat soup every day and not get tired of it. Matt on the other hand, refuses to eat soup in scorching weather, so it has been awhile since I’ve made any. Now that the weather is cooling down a bit, it was my free pass to make one of our favorites. This recipe for Chicken Fajita soup is definitely one of my favorite recipe redos. This recipe is also very vegetarian friendly–omit the chicken and add another can of black beans, and you have yourself a high protein meal with a lot of veggies. I like to serve my soup over crushed tortilla chips and cheese as opposed to sprinkling them on top. I like that the chips get soft and they actually help to thicken the soup. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do–it’s the best on cold Fall evenings–plus it can definitely feed a crowd and it’s a one pot meal. Bonus.

The Ingredients:

• 1 box (32 oz) of chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 red peppers–sliced to uniform thickness
• 1 large red or sweet onion–sliced to uniform thickness
• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 can condensed chicken soup
• 1 can black beans-rinsed and drained
• 2-3 cloves of cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 can enchilada sauce–mine was the medium heat level
• 1 lb of chicken breast–precooked, I cooked mine in the slow cooker earlier in the day
• 1/4-1/2 cup pickled jalapeños chopped–or less if they are fresh/based on your heat preference
• 1/2-3/4 cup of frozen corn (optional)
• Cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, & avocado for garnish
• A squeeze of lime juice over each bowl served (optional)

Vine Ripened Tomato Salsa

If you know me at all…you’ll know that I am not a big fan of tomatoes. Matt on the other hand can eat them like apples–all he needs is a little salt and he bites right into them. Eeeek. I’ve been warming up to them in the past couple of years though–as long as I squeeze out all the gooey seeds before eating them. Randomly enough, I do love two tomato products: ketchup & salsa (if you’re wondering I’m a strictly butter only on pasta–unless it’s homemade sauce). Since salsa encompasses all the gooey stuff in tomatoes I am sometimes surprised myself that I love it so much. I put it on a lot of foods too–ranging from scrambled eggs to traditional tacos.

At the grocery store, the tomatoes looked particularly fresh. I’m a sucker for buying produce if they’re unloading the shipment fresh, so I decided to grab a few of the vine ripened tomatoes. Avocados were on sale too & Matt is always asking for a taco night (we used to do Taco Tuesday’s ever week but somehow we’ve strayed from that tradition), so I figured I could surprise him with a Mexican night. Something about homemade salsa in the summer is particularly magical. What a healthy, quick treat. I make a lot of versions of homemade salsa–peach salsa, mango-pinapple salsa–but today I decided to go the more traditional route. It was fantastic.

The Ingredients: 

Equipment needed: Food Processor 

• 3-4 vine ripened tomatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 2-3 large cloves of fresh garlic
• Jalapeños–-I used pickled because I forgot to pick up some fresh ones 
• Juice of 1/2 lemon or lime 
• Dried oregano 
• Salt & fresh cracked black pepper

Mango fever! Avocado Mango Salsa & Strawberry Mango Smoothies.

I had never been a huge fan a mangos but after dining at Cuba Libre in Old City (fantastic food!) and sampling their Avocado-Mango Salsa I quickly realized that I was missing out! The next time I hit Produce Junction (located in PA & NJ…a land of amazingness! think whole sale fruit & veggies…CHEAP!) I grabbed a few. They weren’t ripe initially and since I was craving them ASAP, I popped them into a paper bag with an apple for two days. Heard of this before? All I remember from my years of chemistry is that apples produce a gas that acts as an accelerant to help ripen other fruits! Thank you chemistry for the practical lesson for once! Anyhow, I created a few yummy things to share!

Avocado-Mango Salsa:

Matt & I are obsessed with guacamole so I knew after we sampled the salsa at Cube Libre I would have to figure out how to recreate it. Please forgive me! I forgot to take a picture! Next time for sure…that is if I can abstain from stuffing my face! ha!

The Ingredients:  

• 1 ripe mango
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/4 cup red onion (a little or a lot…you call the shots)
• jalapeños (optional)
• juice of 1 lime
• small pinch of cayenne pepper
• salt & pepper

How to:

• Dice the mango–a great how to located here: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_a_mango
• Follow the same rules with the avocado–I love dicing them in similar sizes because it really helps the ingredients to mesh & do their delicious things!
• Add the 1/4 cup of diced red onion to the mix–if you aren’t a huge fan of red onions, give them a rinse with cold water! it realllly helps to take the bite out of the onion and mellow them out (seriously, try it!)
• Dice the jalapeños…as few or as many as you like depending on your preference
• Give the lime a roll on the counter or pop it in the microwave to “really get the juices flowing”–name that chef!
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Mash it around with a fork to help really bring the ingredients together

Refrigerate until chilled and serve with tortilla chips–homemade or store bought. As you can tell it’s definitely just a recipe you can throw together. It’s super refreshing and perfect for summer.

Not to mention the great health benefits of avocado and mangos! Seriously good food for your body. It’s a win win snack! Tasty and great for you.