Hearty Chipotle Chicken Soup/ Chipotle Chicken Chili

First time when I made this soup, I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing. But it turned out really really good. Luckily I remembered what all I did and immediately noted the recipe. My kiddos say that "this is the BEST soup you have ever made". Same exact words from their mouth every time I make it. It's a complete meal by itself, with beans, rice and chicken, this soup fills you up. It's very versatile and you can play with different vegetables and meats. Pictured here, I have paired it with my Cranberry Pecan Kale Salad.

Prep Time: 40 min| Cooking Time: 40 min | Serves: 5

Ingredients:

Shredded Chicken * - 1 Cup
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp.Onion - 1 Medium - Cubed
Garlic - 4 Cloves (Crushed)
Bell Pepper - 1 Medium - Cubed
Brown Rice (Cooked) - 1 Cup
Pinto Beans - 1 Can
Vegetable/ Chicken Stock - 2 Cups
Water - 2 Cups
Lime Juice - From half of lime ( About 1 tbsp)
Cilantro (optional) - handful
Salt - 1 tsp. *Careful with quantity, if using stock

For Chipotle Sauce:
Ground Chipotle Chile - 1 tsp. (or 2 chopped Chipotle Chile from can)
Chili Powder - 1 tsp.
Brown Sugar - 1 tsp.
Tabasco Sauce - 1 tsp.
Ketchup/ Tomato Sauce - 1 tbsp.
Paprika - 1 tsp.
White Vinegar - 1 tsp. (optional)

Method of Preparation:

~ For shredded chicken below are various methods to do
1. Boil 4 cups of water and add uncooked chicken. Once they are cooked completely (after 15 min), fish out the chicken and let it cool. You can use this water for soup. Shred the chicken once you are able to handle it.
2. Canned Cooked Chicken in water. Shred them and use.
3. You can always use left over chicken from any dish you have prepared.

~ Prepare the brown rice ahead of time and keep it handy.
~ Mix all the ingredients under chipotle sauce in a small bowl and keep it aside.
~ In a large stock pot, heat olive oil and add onion, bell pepper and crushed garlic.
~ Fry until onion are opaque. Add the chipotle sauce and continue to fry until the raw swell goes away.
~ Drain the water from pinto beans and add it to the pot along with water and chicken stock.
~ Bring it to boil, add brown rice, cover and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
~ Check for salt and add as needed. Top it with lime juice, cilantro and serve it hot.

Note: You can substitute chicken for fresh soy meat or skip the meat altogether.

You might also be interested in:
Cranberry Pecan Kale Salad
Vegetarian Chili
Brunswick Chicken Stew
Thai Basil Chicken
Turkey Ragu

Pumpkin soup

Once the fall season starts we have too many pumpkin’s sitting around house. Kids go pumpkin picking from school, then with friends and we end up with lots and lots of them. We carved a few, cooked a few. Here is a pumpkin and spinach soup that I tried after my son asked me for one. It was quite tasty with all the pepper and spices. Loved its vibrant color.

Hmmm, can you smell the crispy leaves basking in beautiful afternoon? But fall always passes by too quickly.  I wish it stays in 70s temperature always. I love beautiful fall colors. Ahh.. with no such luck and cold coming in yday, try this hot soup to relish at home instead.

Serves: 3 | Prep Time: 10 min. | Cooking Time: 20 min.



Brother pumpkin & Sister pumpkin hanging out together



Ingredients:

• Pumpkin – 2 cups - Peeled and pressure cooked / pumpkin puree
• Spinach/ Palak - 1 cup (coarsely chopped)
• Diced Tomatoes & chilies (mild) - 1 (Ro*tel brand - 10 oz can )
• Vegetable/ Chicken broth - 14.5 oz can (or Water)
• Onion - 1 medium
• Garlic – 2 pods
• Pepper powder – ½ tsp.
• Thyme powder - 1 tsp.
• Heavy cream - 2 tbsp. 
• Olive Oil – 2 tsp.
• Salt to taste

One of the pumpkin is almost wilted from direct sunlight

  

Method of Preparation

~ In a pan, heat oil and add onion, garlic and fry till translucent.

~ Add spinach and cook for few minutes until spinach wilts.

~ Add diced tomatoes and chilies, pumpkin puree and mix it all together. Switch off after 5 minutes.

~ After this is cooled, puree it in a blender.

~ Now heat this puree in the same pan, add chicken/ vegetable stock, pepper powder, thyme powder.

~ Check the salt and add to taste. Bring the soup to a boil.

~ Switch off and add heavy cream and give it a nice mix.

~ While serving you can add some more cream and some mint leaves to garnish.

Sending this to Vardhini's Halloween Fiesta event.
Dee's Pumpkin blog hop
Kalyani's 100 Days Global Food Festival
Srivalli's Soup's and Salad Mela

Atval or Rice Porridge

You can call this my first Konkani recipe post. Recently Aayi made this for my sister Vandana whom she is visiting in Netherlands. When I was talking to them later that day, both of them were like, you have to put up this family favorite recipe on the blog. So, today I made Atval at home and blogging this comfort food from my childhood for you all to enjoy. This is a simple Konkani dish that not many people might have had. My mom would make this often. I loved eating them hot at the end of lunch like a desert (even though it’s not sweet). With rich coconut and rice, it sure will give you a good afternoon nap. Well, atleast that's where I am heading as soon as I am done posting. :o).

Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 10 min. | Cooking Time: 12 to 15 min.

Ingredients:

·         Long grain Rice – 1 cup (Whiter the better)

·         Fresh coconut – ½ cup (Grind the freshly grated coconut in blender. Use just enough water to make it a smooth paste. )

·         Water – 4 - 5 cups

·         Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

~ Wash the rice and soak it for half an hour.

~ Drain the water, put it in the blender and pulse couple of times just enough to break the grains in half. [If you grind without soaking, you will get rice flour instead of broken rice]

~ Take the rice out in a pot, add 4 cups of water to rice and keep it on high to bring it to boil.

~ Stir every once in a while to make sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom.

~ Check on the rice grain and when it’s almost ready to be done, (should cook in about 7 to 8 minutes) add the coconut. Add salt to taste, give it all a stir and switch off the heat. It should be watery like kheer/ thin porridge consistency.

~ Serve it at the end of a meal or it can be served as a meal.

I am sending this recipe to Sameena's Rice Recipes Event.

Vegetarian Chili

It's Shravan month in Hindu calendar. And we don't eat any kind of meat (chicken, egg or even fish). So I made this Vegetarian Chili/ Taco Soup/ Soy soup for our dinner. I have had chicken chilli (we don't eat beef so have never tasted meat chili) before. This is my vegetarianized Indian version of it. This soup is packed with protein, iron and various minerals that it’s a meal in itself. It is also a leaner version with soy meat rather than chicken/ meat. I serve this with whole grain toast.

Ingredients:

·   Ground Soy meat – 1 pkg. ( 14 oz/ 2 cups - I use Ground Sausage Style Veggie protein from Trader Joe.)

·   Onion – 1 medium size/ 1 cup chopped

·   Tomato – 1 medium size/ half cup chopped
·   Garlic - 6 Cloves -  Finely chopped 

·   Turmeric powder – ½ tsp.

·   Chili powder – 1½ tsp.

·   Taco seasoning dry powder – 2 tsp. (½ oz)

·   Tomato paste – 1 Can

·   Kidney beans – 1 Can

·   Black beans – 1 Can

·   Oil – 2 tsp.

·   Water – As required/ about 4 to 5 cups.

Method of Preparation:

~ In a large pan, add some oil and fry onions till translucent.

~ Add garlic, soy meat broken in chunks, and fry them on medium heat until soy meat is cooked (about 5 to 9 minutes).

~ Add salt just enough for this mixture.

~ Now add turmeric, chili powder, taco seasoning and mix.

~ Add tomatoes and tomato paste and continue to fry for another 3 minutes.

~ Add a cup of water and mix them thoroughly.

~ Now add kidney beans and black beans with their liquid and mix thoroughly.

~ Adjust the water as required. [Add little more water than soup consistency.]

~ Simmer on low heat for 25 minutes. Then, open the lid and continue to boil for another 5 minutes.

~ Serve it hot with toast.

Serves: About 5 to 6 people | Prep Time: About 10 min. | Cooking Time: About 45 min.

Tips:

·    Keep a check on the salt, since the canned beans will usually add salt to your dish.

·    If you don’t find fresh soy meat, you can use dried soy crumbs. Soak them in warm water for half hour before using it.
·    You can substitute water with vegetable broth.

Update:
Sending this to Dish it out on Vardhini's Zesty Palette via 
 Dish it out : Tomato And Chilli Event on Reva's Kaarasaaram  

Sending this to Mehjabeen's Iftar nights event

Sending this to The Pumpkin Farm's CFE event