Sopa de Pollo

Actually craving it as I write...
For some reason, the flavors of Mexico are soothing to me. I know the reason. My mother, whilst I was in the midst of her belly, ate a plethora of foods, from none other than the neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Now, maybe I'm stretching the truth a bit here when I say that it was a weekly outing for her, but I do know that once I was out of said womb, it was a weekly ritual to join friends at Cazadores on Friday night.

I know some of you cringe at the thought of American-Mexican food, and I concur that the state of Mexican food in this country is unjustly represented, but hear me out. My sister just LOVES the queso. It is always a perfect, unassuming bowl of cheese dip they fling on the table just scalding hot from the microwave, but it is also more than that. Then there's the Child's Plate No. 3 (my childhood favorite): a cheese quesadilla with bean instead of rice, please. But it's more than that. Then there's Carnitas...no longer on the menu, but always a GREAT standby. But it's more than that. Chile Verde, favorite meal to share with Dad. Taco salad, on lighter days. Nachos Supreme when I was in my prime. And chicken soup.

Little Sopa de Pollo, over there on the bottom of the left hand side of the menu, I see you. I see how (yet again) unassuming and simple you are. But ah! here is the perk of being a Regular. A perfect meal, but it's more than that. Those dishes really bring me back to childhood and the nostalgic reality of life. I try to go to Cazadores every time I'm home, but sometimes I don't make it. On my last trip, we ordered ToGo and I was about to leave to come back to my apartment. I got chicken soup. I was lost in my thoughts while I hastily gobbled down chunks of chicken and avocado. The perfect meal after an 8 hour car ride when you want something light. The perfect way to lift your spirits on a cold winter day. The perfect accompaniment to a long, sickly day spent on the couch. Why can't I make this? It felt like an epiphany. I mean sure, I can make a MEAN carnita and all the enchiladas in the world but THIS? Of course, it is REALLY REALLY simple.

Sopa de Pollo

shredded chicken from 2 cooked chicken breasts or meat from a rotisserie chicken

one-two boxes low sodium chicken broth

cooked brown rice (1-1.5c uncooked)

Pico de Gallo (make your own by FINELY chopping 2:2:1:1 onions:tomatoes:jalepeno:cilantro)

1-2 avocado, depending on taste

limes

chopped green pepper (my addition)

1. Cook brown rice according to the instructions on the package. Shred chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat up in a saucepan with the chicken broth. 

2. Meanwhile, chop all your veggies. Slice the limes for juicing. Squeeze some lime on avocado so it doesn't brown.

3. When the broth is heated, scoop a bit of rice in your bowl, then some chicken and broth, then add all other ingredients. Squeeze fresh lime on top.

Great with a cheese quesadilla on the side.

Enjoy!

Get Your Salad On!

Its Spring!
Here's a light and fresh salad that reminds me of my grandpa! He grows cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet onions in his garden and sometimes they make a salad like this, only sliced different and excluding the tomatoes cause they are too good on their own.

Veggies are so yummy! And this salad is like free calories. Just wait until the tomatoes are in a good season for eating almost plain.

Summer Salad

2 medium tomatoes

1 medium cucumber

half of a small red onion or sweet onion

olive oil, vinegar

salt, pepper, splenda

1. If you have oil and vinegar dressing (hendriksen's or newman's own), use that. Otherwise, mix 1/4 c vinegar (apple cider is good here or red wine) with 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and a sprinkling of Splenda. The sweetness counteracts the flavors and the vinegar breaks down the onions. Whisk in 1/3 c olive oil.

2. Chop or slice cucumbers and rest of veggies. Mix with the dressing and let sit for at least an hour.

Enjoy!

On a Whim Banana Pudding

After much deliberation, I have decided to omit the "Total Tally" for most of my posts. It is incredibly time consuming and not completely accurate. I will however have some suggestions as to how you can cut costs.

That being said, this past week was Spring break and I have been in and out of Atlanta for the past week, so the time I've had to cook was limited. Desperate for something to occupy my time off from school work this morning, I rummaged around in my pantry....I found some sugar free pudding, old 100 calorie packs, nuts, and bananas. All I ever needed for some home cookin'!

So I got everything together and went to work! If you have random things lying around, try combining them, you might be surprised in what you can come up with.

I threw the cookies on the bottom of the pan (those chocolate oreo ones would be good too, maybe with a different pudding), chopped up some walnuts, threw them on top. Then I sliced a couple bananas and put them on top of the "crust" layer.

Finally, make your pudding, 2 c milk, sugar free banana pudding mix, maybe add some vanilla. This is where you can get creative. I would have added vanilla had I had any and I also thought about putting a top layer of white chocolate pudding. (Sometimes I find the banana pudding TOO banana-y so maybe try leaving out a bit of the banana mix and adding a vanilla or white chocolate pudding to substitute.) 

Now, I didn't take a picture, but I found a way to sneak some chocolate in. I grated, or finely chopped, some super dark chocolate right on top of the bananas. It was like chocolate snow....mmmmm....! But if you use dark chocolate with a 60-80% cocoa, you will get the most nutrients. Bananas--loaded with potassium! Walnuts--omega 3 fatty acids; they help keep your skin and hair healthy! As for pudding and 100 calorie cookies, you can figure that one out.

   

Banana Pudding

1 pkg banana pudding mix

2 c milk

20 small cookies (Nilla wafers are the BEST!)

handful of nuts (optional)

dark chocolate (optional)

vanilla (optional)

1. Follow directions on the box for making the pudding.

2. Layer ingredients in ANY WAY YOU WANT!

3. Cover and store in refrigerator.

Enjoy!

The Cure-All

No matter how long your week is planned to be, or how long it ends up being, you are always glad it's over. Tuesday night hit me like a sack-uh-potatoes. Sore throat, slight aches, and FATigue. Probably cause school closed before I could get to the gym.
Here's my home remedy for any ailment. It might already be yours, but I modified it a smidge.

Some health benefits: lemon is said to help aid in digestion (it also tastes really yummy, ginger is believed to cut through congestion by opening nasal passages and lungs, and honey soothes the throat. Also, ginger helps settle the tummy. Overall, just a lovely, comforting thing to drink.

I could drink this every day.

Cure-All Tea

2 bags Sleepytime Tea (it has chamomile and other good things, your favorite mild tea will work)

2 c water

1/3 lemon

fresh ginger (size of your thumb depending on how much you like it)

honey

1. Either in the microwave or on the stove, heat water until it boils. Add tea bags and steep.

2. Cut a third of the lemon, from the end, and take out sections. (I cut mine like a grapefruit to remove very small sections of the lemon.) Slice large pieces of the lemon zest, avoiding the white parts. Peel ginger, finely cube or coin it. For a bigger ginger flavor, grate over a micro-plane. You might want to strain the tea if you do this. Add all and Steep for another minute.

3. Strain this mixture (possibly leave behind the lemon sections or slice a piece for garnish) and stir in honey. You may want to re-heat it.

Enjoy!

Funds

lemon= .50

ginger=5 something a lb (who would buy that much ginger?) =.50

honey= <.25

tea bags= 3-5 depending on brand= .50

Total Tally= $1.75

Also, if you have a ton of drainage/phlegm try mixing water, a couple capfuls of apple cider vinegar, lemon, honey. Heat and stir. It may taste funny, but boy does it work!