Tortilla Soup.

Tortilla Soup

5 bone in chicken breasts

5 quarts water

8 stalks celery, sliced in 1/4-inch pieces

8 carrots, peeled and sliced in 1/4-inch pieces

2-3 medium onions, chopped

3 teaspoons minced garlic

6 teaspoons salt (or to taste)

1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper (can use more)

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper (can use more)

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (can use more)

1 teaspoon cumin (can use more)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 (8 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies,

original (Rotel)

2 (8 ounce) cans diced tomatoes and green chilies, mild (Rotel)

1 pint heavy whipping cream (can use more)

3 (15 ounce) cans corn, drained

30 corn tortillas

monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend, fancy shred (for topping)

peanut oil or canola oil or vegetable oil, for frying tortilla strips

3-4 tablespoons chicken base (Better than Bullion, can use more)

In a large stockpot, over med hi heat, boil chicken, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, salt, and peppers in water for 1 to 2 hours, or until chicken is very tender, and easy to de-bone.

Remove chicken and let cool. Reduce heat to simmer.

Add Rotel, cilantro, corn, and cumin to the pot, stir well.

Remove chicken from the bone, and chunk. Add to the pot. Simmer 30 minutes.

Add cream. Stir in bullion paste to taste.

Cut tortillas in thin strips, and fry in heated oil (med hi heat) until golden brown, drain on paper towels.

Place tortilla strips in bottom of bowl, ladle soup over top. Sprinkle with cheese.

Mexican Meatball Soup

I wish I could claim full credit for something this easy and delicious, but the inspiration for this recipe came from Real Simple Magazine, April 2010. Our entire family found this soup to be more delicious than Taco Soup, which has long been one of our favorites.

1 pound ground sausage
1 cup tortilla chips, crushed (plus more for serving)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups mild salsa (about 1 1/2  16-ounce jars)

1 avocado, cut into pieces
tortilla chips
cilantro
Mexican crumbling/melting cheese
sour cream

Combine sausage, tortilla chips, cumin, salt, and pepper. Shape into 1-inch balls (about 24). These can be cooked on a broiler pan in the oven on broil for 5-6 minutes OR on a foil-lined baking pan in the toaster oven on 350 for about 10 minutes. I like to turn the meatballs once and bake them until they are nicely browned.

In a blender (or in the large saucepan with an immersion blender), puree the salsa and one cup water. In a large saucepan, add two cups water to salsa puree and bring to a boil. Add the cooked meatballs, reduce the heat, ad simmer until cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes.

Serve with avocado, cilantro, chips, cheese, and sour cream, if desired.

Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

Campbell's Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Pace picante sauce
2 tsp chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded monterey Jack cheese
6 6" tortillas (warmed)
1 small tomato, chopped
1 green onion, chopped

1. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante, and chili powder in a medium bowl.
2. Stir one cup mixture, chicken, and cheese in a large bowl.
3. Divide chicken mixture among tortillas. Roll up the tortillas  and place seam side up in 2 qt shallow baking dish. Pour remaining sauce mixture over filled tortillas. Cover.
4. Bake at 350 for 40 mins or until hot and bubbling. Top with tomato and onion

Gizrum.

I was recently bequeathed a vintage Alabama cookbook from the 60s. In it, I ran across this recipe, and since I had never heard the word before, I Googled it. I only saw two references, and one was for this same recipe in another cookbook, archived for perpetuity at Google Books. But just in case something happens and that book is taken down from Google (it IS still in production and available from Amazon), I'm adding it here as well. It is definitely a member of the relish family.

Gizrum

16 large ripe tomatoes
6 large white onions
6 green peppers
1 red hot pepper
2 cups sugar
6 TBSP salt (can be reduced to four, to taste)
1 pint vinegar
spices, to taste

Scald & skin tomatoes. Chop onions and green peppers coarsely. Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy kettle and cook slowly for one hour or longer, until thick. Stir often to prevent scorching. Pour into small jars and seal while hot. Serve with black eyed peas and turnip greens.

Best Macaroni & Cheese.

Ruth Reichl had delcared this to be the world's BEST Macaroni & Cheese.....

Macaroni and Cheese

Topping:
¼ stick (two tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (about 4 ounces)

Mac & Cheese:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 ¾ cups whole milk
¾ cups heavy cream
4 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (about 1 pound)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ pound elbow macaroni

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 3-quart shallow baking dish.
Stir together butter, panko, and cheese in a bowl until well combined.
Melt butter in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat. Whisk in flour and red pepper flakes and cook, whisking, for 3 minutes to make a roux. Whisk in milk in a slow stream, then bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. Simmer, whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in cream, Cheddar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Remove pot from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming.
Cook macaroni in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt per every 4 quarts of water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain macaroni.
Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl, then transfer to baking dish (mixture will be loose).
Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni. Bake until top is golden and bubbling, 25 to 35 minutes.