Devin's Chicken Tortilla Soup

The Four Mom's are doing a link-up today for easy recipes for lunch.  While this may be a little more involved, it makes a lot of soup....which can either be frozen for later use or cooked for an evening meal and served for lunch the next day.  What makes it even easier for me is that I don't cook it!!  Devin does and as always it is so very delicious!  Enjoy! Check out other recipes at Raising Olives, Life in a Shoe, Smockity Frocks, and The Common Room.


Devin's Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 cloves of minced garlic
half an onion, chopped
3 T butter
2 T all-purpose flour
3 14 oz cans chicken broth
4 cups half-and-half
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
2 cans Cheddar cheese soup
6 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and skinned (tonights with chicken leg quarters that were on sale a few weeks ago)
2 t cumin
1 packet fajita seasoning
3 T chopped fresh cilantro

To serve:
tortilla chips
shredded monterey jack cheese

In a large pot over medium heat, saute garlic and onion in the butter for 5 minutes. 

Add flour and stir well, cooking for 1 minute more while adding in a little of the broth to keep from scorching.

Add the rest of the broth and half-and-half.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Add the soup, Rotel, chicken, cumin, fajita seasoning and cilantro.  Stir and continue to heat for 15 minutes.

Serve hot with crumbled tortilla chips and cheese on top.

Breakfasts

The 4 Moms are talking breakfasts today and I thought I would put in my 2 cents worth as well.  Join them over at Raising Olives, Life in a Shoe, Smockity Frocks and The Common Room.

Breakfasts are fairly easy around here these days as I don't cook them!  Yes, I have trained my children to handle breakfast cooking around here! Really, it is very nice  and one day you too, can have children who will cook breakfast for you IF you take the time to work with them in the kitchen and let them have the freedom to experiment and make messes.  Just make sure you teach them to clean up as well.  I'm still working on a few of them and constantly repeat the mantra that I heard as a teen working at McDonald's, "CLEAN AS YOU GO! "  It really does make a difference!

Several years ago we adopted a menu plan for our breakfasts and we have since diverged from it, but the same plan covers the basics.

Sundays-cinnamon rolls--Devin (22) now makes these every few weeks and freezes them.

Mondays-homemade muffins and eggs

Tuesdays -toast and cereal--(toasted bread, bagels or English muffins along with granola or grits)

Wednesdays-waffles and bacon or sausage (currently discontinued as our Belgian waffle maker broke)

Thursdays-toast and cereal

Fridays -pancakes and bacon or sausage

Saturdays-homemade biscuits, bacon or sausage, eggs and grits

This is the general plan, but the kids are free to change if the mood swings them.  No mixes are used and we even make our own homemade syrup.  My Granny always made what she called Hot Syrup with just sugar and water, but ours is flavored with maple and vanilla.  Here's the recipe!

Hot Syrup


3 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups of water

Bring the sugar water to a boil.  Add a teaspoon of vanilla and/or maple flavoring.  You can also add a tablespoon or two of molasses.  Let boil for just a few minutes.  Overcooking will result in stringy syrup!!  We keep leftover syrup in a pint jar in the fridge and just reheat for another day.