Saturday, August 14, 2010

Tequila Lime Chicken Soup

Tequila Lime Chicken Soup



2-3 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat.
1 medium white onion, chopped coarsely
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 diced jalapenos or 1-2 Serrano peppers
3/4 cup tequila (1/4 cup for marinade, 1/2 cup to add into soup)
4-6 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tsp oregano
2 tbsp cumin
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
2 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional stuff
Tortilla strips or chips
Sour Cream
Lime Slices

In a ziploc bag, place the chicken breasts, 1/4 cup tequila, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1-2 diced jalapenos. Let marinate for 30 minutes of so.

In a good-size pot, add a small bit of olive oil over medium high heat.
Add the onion and cook until clear
Add the garlic after onion turns clear, cook until fragrant.
Add contents of marinating bag to the pot.
Then add all the other ingredients except for the cilantro.
Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Add the cilantro, and cover.
Simmer until chicken starts to break down.
If you're in a hurry, brown the chicken breasts on both sides and slice into bite size pieces before hand.
Then add into the pot and cook for about 10-15 minutes until all the flavors have melded.
Serve with sour cream, tortilla strips, and top with some extra sprigs of cilantro.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Raspberry-Strawberry Salsa

I love pretty much any type of spicy food, but my wife is a person who can take only so much. This is a problem because I have a bunch of peppers from the farmer's market stored in the freezer. In an attempt to get these peppers used up in a timely manner and to not set my wife on fire, I made a variety of fruit salsas.

From a blackberry salsa(meh) to a blueberry salsa(has potential, but I need to tweak a few things) but the first, and best, salsa that I made was a raspberry-strawberry salsa. And everyone else seems to think so too. So far, the reviews have been excellent. My wife absolutely loved it when I made a test batch at home; and I made it again for a family reunion and they ate it all up. With another batch of fruit salsa someone made right next to it getting significantly less attention.

It's a simple recipe and very refreshing during the summer months.

1/2 cup strawberries (sliced into smaller segments)
1/2 cup raspberries (slice in half if very large)
1/2 white onion, chopped finely
1-2 Serrano peppers, diced (alter # of peppers to fit your heat level)
1/4 cup cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and let sit in the fridge for at least a half hour to let the flavors meld and then serve.