Pampered Chef Chicken Tortilla Soup

I wanted to share a recipe that I have been making lately. My family loves it and it's so easy. I had it at a Pampered Chef party and just had to get the recipe. I like it because I usually have most of the ingredients on hand and if I don't I substitute.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

4 (6") corn tortillas
1/2 C onion, chopped
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 garlic clove
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, undrained
4 tsp. fresh cilantro, snipped
2 oz reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 C)
4 thick slices fresh lime (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut tortillas into 1/2" strips using Kitchen Shears. Place on flat Baking Stone. Bake 7-8 minutes or until crisp.

Meanwhile, chop onion using Food Chopper. Cut chicken into 1/2" pieces using 8" Chef's Knife. Heat Generation II 4 Qt Casserole over medium-high heat. Spray with vegetable oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Add chicken; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add onion, garlic pressed with Garlic Press, chili powder and cumin. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Snip cilantro using Kitchen Shears. Divide tortilla strips among 4 bowls. Ladle soup over totillas using Nylon Ladle. Shred cheese over top with Deluxe Cheese Grater. Sprinkle soup with cilantro. Garnish each bowl with lime slice to squeeze juice into soup, if desired.

I use regular mild cheddar cheese, not reduced fat.

Substitutions I use:
Garlic Powder = fresh garlic
Tortilla chips = corn tortillas

Matzo Crusted Chicken Cutlets

When it comes to dinner, I'm all about easy. I like to make things from scratch but I don't want to be spending hours making dinner every night. This is one of our families favorite. It's no secret. The recipe is on the back of every can of Manischewitz Matzo Meal. I know a lot of people who use bread crumbs for coating but this meal mixture is a lot more tasty and creates a crunchy, non-oily coating. Tonight I made some pasta and salad to accompany the chicken.


You will need boneless chicken breast, Manischewitz Matzo Meal, salt, pepper, 1 egg and oil. I cut the chicken width-wise to make it thinner to insure complete cooking. In one bowl, add some salt and pepper to the Manischewitz Matzo to taste. In another bowl, beat the raw egg and add a teaspoon of water.

Dip chicken first into egg mixture and then into meal mixture. Place in a deep frying pan with about an inch of hot oil.



Turn over when bottom is brown.








Continue cooking until dark brown.









Cool on paper towels before serving.

My First Cake

Well...that's not technically correct. My first cake was a three layer cake for a friends bridal shower. It wasn't too bad except I made the cake from scratch and it was a little dry and over baked. After that I learned that most people who decorate cakes use box cakes. I used a box cake for this one and it was delicious. I practiced using the icing a few days before I made the cake. There is certainly a skill to it.

Icing Knife










To start I bought a Wilton Course 1 Cake Decorating book, which I still have and reference every time I make a cake. The booklet shows (with pictures) how to fill a bag, ice a cake and many more things. I would love to take a cake decorating class someday. I've tried to make flowers and I just don't get it. If you want to start making cakes of your own I suggest a few invaluable tools: a icing knife, a cake leveler, a Cake Icer Tip, disposable bags, and a ring and coupler.

A cake leveler does just what it says. It levels your cake. When the cake is done cooking it has a "hump" from rising. You adust the wire on the leveler and then slide it across the top of the cake. Your family will love to eat the cake that gets skimmed off the top! You can also use the leveler to "torte" or cut the cake into layers to add a filling. The filling doesn't have to be complicated, it can simply be additional icing.

One of my favorite tools is a Cake Icer Tip. It's hard not to get crumbs from your cake in your icing. When this happens, it can ruin the look of a cake. Using the Cake Icer Tip is also faster. You'll be able to recognize this tip easily because it much bigger than any other tip.

Ring and Coupler






Tips





For icing I use a Class Buttercream Frosting recipe that came in the Wilton book that I bought. It's the icing they use at Wilton classes. I like it for many reasons: (1) Most people seem to like it (2) The ingredients are fairly simple and can be found at most craft stores (3) The finished cake doesn't need refrigerated. You can't use store-bought icing, it's not the right texture for decorating.

Class Buttercream Icing (Stiff Consistency)

1 cup solid white vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon Wilton Flavor (Vanilla, Almond or Butter)
2 tablespoons milk or water
1 lb. pure cane confectioners' sugar (approx. 4 cups)
1 tablespoon Wilton Meringue Powder
A pink of salt (optional)

Cream shortening, flavoring and water. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. Blend an additional minute or so, until creamy. This make a stiff consistency. You will need to add two teaspoons of water for each cup of stiff consistency icing (two tablespoons of additional liquid for the full recipe).

Close, But Still Searching...

When I was young, my mom made banana nut bread, a lot. We all loved it. I remember it being a dark, dense, sweet bread, almost like cake. After I had a family of my own, I asked her for the recipe. She gave me two different ones, neither of which made the bread that I loved. Instead, they made a much lighter-colored bread that was more like bread and less like cake. It seems as though the recipe is lost. After searching online, I came across a recipe that claimed to be dark and dense so today I tried it out. It's close but not exactly the same. It's a little drier and a bit more spongy than I one I remember (or perhaps I mixed the batter too long?). The good thing is that the kids loved it. I'll give it one more try in a couple of months. It takes a while to collect 5-6 over ripe bananas in your freezer you know.

Banana Nut Bread
6 eggs
3 cups sugar
4 or 5 very ripe mashed bananas (I used 5)
3 tbsp. butter or Crisco (I used butter)
1 1/4 cup milk
3 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups flour
Nuts if desired

Lightly beat eggs and add sugar. Mix well. Add bananas and butter. I used very ripe, dark bananas. I throw them in the freezer when they are too ripe and they get really dark that way. Mix well. Then add the milk and mix again. Mix soda and salt with flour and add to mixture. I used my electric mixer for this, but keep it on a low speed. Don't beat it like you would for a cake. Stir in nuts. Grease pans. Fill pans 1/2 full. The recipes says to bake at 325° for 1 hour but I used large pans and mine took longer, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Test with toothpick in middle. Makes 2 large loaves or 3 to 4 small loaves. Cool completely before removing from pans.