Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Slow Cooker

Monday's are my hardest cooking days.  My daughter has ballet until 5:30 so I try to cook ahead so that by the time we get home there is just reheating or last minute preparations.  Today was no exception and after a very sunny weekend we are covered with a chilly, gloomy marine layer.  My son is home from school with a cold and I am a bit rough around the edges myself.  In other words, the perfect day for soup.

I've tried a variety of Chicken Tortilla soup recipes but none in the slow cooker. The slow cooker did the work for me and this is hands down the tastiest Chicken Tortilla soup I have ever made.  Everyone in my family LOVED it and it could not have been easier.  I literally threw all the ingredients in and just left it alone.  This recipe is taking it's place in our top ten.  It is that good!

Chicken Tortilla Soup in the slow cooker

1 lb shredded, cooked chicken (I boiled chicken breasts in water and let them cool before shredding)

15 oz. peeled tomatoes, mashed (I prefer to use tomatoes from boxes like this to avoid the BPA found in cans.)

16 oz. enchilada sauce (I use sauce from a jar, not a can)

4 oz. chopped green chili peppers (these are from a can, if you know of an alternative to canned, let me know!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon each cumin, chili powder, salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bay leaf (make sure to remove when soup is done)

12 ounces packaged frozen corn

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro + more for garnish

7 corn tortillas to make baked tortilla chips for garnish

sliced avocado for garnish

light sour cream for garnish
juice from a fresh lime

Put all ingredients (chicken through to cilantro) in slow cooker and cook covered for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.

When the soup is nearly done prepare the tortillas by lightly spraying with vegetable or olive oil spray (I prefer olive oil.)  Cut into thin strips and spread on lightly sprayed cooked sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees until crisp, about 15 minutes.

Serve soup garnished with tortilla strips, sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.  Add a squeeze of lime juice.

My sweet little girl wants to be just like her mommy. She styled and photographed her own bowl and asked me to put it on her blog. So cute!!

Sharing this recipe:

Started a new painting today and love the way paint contrasts with my nails.  Stay tuned...

More Color in the Garden

It was a beautiful weekend. I took these pictures in my garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to see more garden colors.

Illustration Friday - Jump

This horse likes to jump, not sure how I ended up with a colorful watercolor horse but here we are.  Not even sure I like it at all but it only took me a few hours and I wanted to post early this week...

Watercolor on paper

The earlier version, which didn't feel finished

My sketchbook, I was originally going to go classic with the version in the top right with rider...

Starting my day out right

Started my day out with another longer "barefoot" run.  Just over 5 miles with a few walking breaks and several stops to stretch out my calves and ankles.  There is a lot of leg fatigue running in the barefoot shoes.  I know (hope!) this will go away over time, for now it helps to stretch and loosen things up.

The view never gets old

My new kicks.  I don't normally run on grass but I stepped in dog poop and was trying to get it off.  Yuck.

My post run breakfast, about 260 calroes.  Maybe too much protein but it was what I was hungry for.

Why does Bikram Yoga need to be hot and Snow on the Mountains

Snow over Lake Cachuma, acrylic on cavas.  My very first painting from years ago.

Brrrr...that is how I felt in my Bikram Yoga class yesterday.  Not quite as cold as this painting of snow on the mountains overlooking Lake Cachuma but pretty darn cold, at least by Bikram Yoga standards.  As soon as I walked into the studio yesterday it hit me...or rather that hot wall of air DIDN'T hit me.  Turns out the main heater was broken.  The only source of heat in the room were two wall heaters, a humidifier and our bodies.  I was surprised by how many people left when they heard the room wasn't 105 degrees.  As some ladies were leaving I heard an instructor who was taking the class say "but what if you get stronger today?"  Well said.  I stayed.

Here is Bikram's official stance on the heat in the room:

Why 105 degrees? Yoga changes the construction of the body from the inside out, from bones to skin and from fingertips to toes. So before you change it, you have to heat it up to soften it, because a warm body is a flexible body. Then you can reshape the body any way you want. Hatha Yoga flushes away the waste products, the toxins of all the glands and organs of your body. It provides a natural irrigation of the body through the circulatory system, with the help of the respiratory system. It brings nourishments to every cell of your body so that each one can perform its function and keep your body healthy. Bikram Yoga also employs heat to further that cleaning process: When you sweat, impurities are flushed out of the body through the skin

Here's what I learned:

You burn WAY less calories in a not-hot hot room!  As you know I've been counting calories lately and wearing my hear rate monitor in class I have learned I can burn up to 500 calories in 90 minutes.  (You can read more about it here.)  Today I only burned 209.  Everything the same but the heat.  So the heat not only flushes away impurities, I say it flushes away fat!  Bring on the heat!

Barefoot Running and a view from the Douglas Preserve

The Douglas Preserve, aka the Wilcox Property. 
This is an open space overlooking the ocean where I like to run. 
It's about 2 1/2 miles from my house. 
Acrylic on canvas.

I recently bought these barefoot style running shoes from Merrell. Over the last year as I have tried to heal from Achilles Tendinitis I have tried 3 or 4 pairs of running shoes (and you know how this can add up!) all with disappointing results. Before injuries I was an Asics Gel Kayano girl, then I ran in Brooks and although there was some improvement with the less technical Brooks, the heal pain kept coming back.

A friend kept insisting I should try barefoot (or nearly barefoot) running but it just sounds terrifying. No support? No cushion? Yes, I read Born to Run but I wasn't convinced.

I ended up with the Merrells more as a walking shoe. I walk my children to school often and like a fun, bright shoe that is more cute then a clunky running shoe. I was surprised by how instantly comfortable they were. After walking in them for a week or so I decided to try a short run.

It was...uncomfortable. I felt like a duck trying to run on floppy, flat feet. There was an audible slapping sound with each stride as I lumbered along. My calves hurt and the shin pain wasn't far behind. After the run was even worse, I felt sore and stiff as if I was totally new to running. I mentioned this to my barefoot running friend who suggested I needed to adjust my gait to barefoot running.

There are lots of videos out there to refer to, including some on the Merrrell website. I ended up on You Tube watching this video that was actually made by the Terra Plana company (who boast the first barefoot running shoe.) The basic changes I am trying to make when I run are:

1. Better posture

I'm a "head chaser," I tend to lean forward. I am trying to run as if I had a book on top of my head and an orange between my shoulder blades.

2. Shorter, faster stride

This one is hard for me but if I can master it I'm hoping it will make me faster, too.

3. Lighter, springier step

I tend to plod along like a tired horse, so I'm trying to add a bit more bounce to my step.

Yesterday was my first longer run in my barefoot shoes, just about 5 miles. So far, so good. If you've read my older running posts you'll know that I'm always afraid of over doing it so I'll give me legs a few days to recover before trying again but I am really excited by the prospect of creating a regular running schedule again.

Spring Wildflowers

Acrylic on canvas

I love spring wildflowers.  This is a view of a flowery path at the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens.