Mexican Chicken Soup, White Chicken Chili and Grandpa's Chili

Hey everyone!

I'm Melba, Kim's sous chef this week! Since the cool weather is coming whether we like it or not, I've decided to get ready by making some soups to freeze. For me it's easier to do all the prep work once, and cook it all in one day. Call me crazy, but it works! I now have enough soup for 9 dinners for my family of 3, and 2 lunches for myself :)

If you're not into this all day soup-making-affair, just skip ahead to the recipes you want to make! I have them individually listed.

Prep work:

Chop/dice 4-5 stalks of celery
3 peeled carrots
4 onions
1 green pepper
cilantro (you'll need about 1/2 cup)

Cook chicken - I cooked 4 breasts. Put them in a large skillet with 2-3 cups of chicken broth, cook on medium for about 12 minutes (until no longer pink in the middle).

Cool them slightly, pull them out of the skillet, and shred it with a fork. (I used 2 cups for the Mexican chicken soup, and the rest went into the white chicken chili). Discard broth. You could also use a rotisserie chicken shredded.

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Mexican Chicken Soup (makes about 11 cups)

2 tbsp EVOO

1 medium onion chopped (1 cup)

1 stalk of celery chopped (1 cup)

2 minced garlic cloves

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

6 cups chicken broth

1 4 oz can diced green chilies

1 15oz can corn

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15oz can mexican style diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried oregano

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

juice of 1 lime (1 tsp from the plastic lime)

salt
pepper

Heat the oil in a stockpot. Add the onion, celery, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Cook about 5 mins until veggies soften.

Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.

Add the chilies, corn, tomatoes, beans, and oregano and cook another 5 minutes.

Add chicken, cilantro and lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste.

*note: if it seems to thick to your liking, add some more chicken broth.

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White Chicken Chili (makes about 12 cups)

2-3 tbsp EVOO

1 small chopped onion (3/4 cup)

1 medium carrot finely diced (1 cup)

1 talk of celery chopped (1 cup)

1 1/2 cups chopped green chilies

1 clove of garlic minced

1/2 stick of butter

4 cans of Great Northern beans or Navy beans (I used a combination) - drained and rinsed

6 cups chicken broth

1 lb shredded cooked chicken

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Heat the oil in a stock pot. Add the onion, celery, carrots, cumin, oregano and white pepper.

Cook until the veggies are soft, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small sauce pan.

Add garlic and chilies and cook 5 minutes.

Add 1/3 - 1/2 of the beans to the stock pot, and mash them up using a potato masher.

Then add the rest of the beans, the chili-butter mixture, cilantro and the chicken. Stir really well, and let simmer for 10-15 mins until slightly thickened.

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Grandpa's Chili (makes about 17 cups)

1lb of ground beef

1 sweet green pepper diced

1 onion, diced

1 stalk of celery chopped (1 cup)

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 can of condensed tomato soup + 1 can of water

2 cans of mild chili beans (use spicier ones if you like!)

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 15oz can of diced tomatoes (chili seasoned)

2 tsp brown sugar

3 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp dried basil

1 cup dried elbow noodles

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef along with the onion, pepper, garlic and celery till beef is cooked and veggies are soft.

Drain fat.

Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato soup, and can of water, and stir till combined. Add chili beans (undrained) chili powder, basil and brown sugar.

Bring to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes. (If it seems too thick add another can of water)

Add noodles and cook about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

*note - this is a very thick chili. If you like thinner chili, add more water or beef broth.

And there you have it! 3 hearty soups in just a few hours time. It's so easy to throw one in the fridge to thaw the night before, cook up a pan of corn bread, or dinner rolls and voilla!