Spicy Chicken Soup & A Needy Vehicle

I must have the neediest car in the history of the world.  No really.  This year especially it has been extremely needy.  I mean - I feed it gas, freshen it's oil, make it look pretty by giving it regular baths, and make sure it doesn't freeze solid by plugging it in during the Winter.  Really - how much more does it need?

This year, the car has gotten a new ignition switch, a new windshield, new tires, new brakes, a tire REPAIR, and an oil change.  There might have been something else in there, but I can't think of it.  And now, the temperature gauge isn't working, the engine light is on, and there's a funny noise that sounds like the air conditioning is running - but it's not.

So basically - yay for me.  Stupid car.  Don't worry - it'll get sorted out.

With the return of Fall, I look forward to soups and stews.  I actually start to be pretty obsessed with it.  Although today was 20 degrees Celcuis (the stinkin' ICE CREAM TRUCK even came round!  He doesn't come round in the summer, but September 30th he's on my doorstep).  I want to try and get in a different soup or stew every week, although it's not do or die.

This week is Spicy Chicken Soup.

The recipe calls for 8 chicken breasts, but I only used 3, because - holy cow, chicken is expensive.  It also calls for some spices, onion, garlic, salsa, tomatoes, tomato soup, corn, chili beans, and sour cream.  Apparently I'm an idiot and couldn't figure out that CHILI BEANS are a mixture of different kinds of beans.  So I'm just using kidney beans.

All the stuff you'll need - plus chicken

I did opt to leave out the can of whole peeled tomatoes - just cause there were already LOTS.  Also, because I'm not the biggest tomato fan.  The truth is - I pull tomatoes off BLT sandwiches.  Okay, not always.  But I really only prefer tomatoes when they're on toast with mayo and salt and pepper.

It was really easy to put together.  Some may scoff at the opening of cans of beans and a can of soup, but I don't mind.  Really - the easier the better.

This is my BIG stock pot - and it was almost completely full

And boy did it make one big pot of soup.

Now - if I were a thinkin' lady I would present this bowl of soup with a dollop of sour cream on top and some tortilla strips and serve it with cornbread.  But when it's just me, I kind of forget to pretty things up.  Oh well.

Honestly, I was totally surprised.  I was really unsure about this recipe, but I am really glad I made it!  The tomatoes didn't overpower the soup and were really complimentary.  It wasn't overly spicy - although you would expect it to be with a name like Spicy Chicken Soup, but just enough to have a little zing. 

I think it's a great fall soup.  And I'm happy to say that I have left-overs for a few days and I vacuum-packed a whole bunch of it in individual packages as well so that I can have it over the winter.

Bon apetit!

I honestly tried to take pictures - but who wants to see a picture of open cans?

This is the Cane Girl - warmed up and signing off.



Spicy Chicken Soup
The recipe below is with my changes.  The link to the actual recipe follows.
8 cups water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp onion powder
5 cubes chicken bouillon
3 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (16 ounce) jar chunky salsa
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
2 tbsp chili powder
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained (I used frozen corn and just measured it out in another can)
2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, undrained
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
Sour cream, for topping
Tortilla strips, for topping

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine water, chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder, and bouillon cubes.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until chicken juices run clear.  Remove chicken and shred.  Reserve broth.
3. Return pot to stove.  Over medium heat, cook onion and garlic in butter until slightly browned.  Stir in salsa, diced tomatoes, tomato soup, chili powder, corn, chili beans, sour cream, shredded chicken, and 5 cups reserved broth.
4. Simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and tortilla strips.

Source: Spicy Chicken Soup