Orange Tortilla Soup

It still refuses to warm up here in Northern Utah. Normally, we hit the mid 90's by this time, but the last week has been rainy and grey with lows of 50. Reminds me of Chicago. In October. And November. And March. And almost every other month of the year. Our guests, Ron and Elaine, actually said it was warmer here than back home. They must be lying. This gloom was actually welcome for a few days, but I'm done now. Rain, rain, go away.

To warm up our bones, I made the ever popular Orange Tortilla Soup for our guests on Sunday. This recipe comes from our ever popular neighbor Laura M. Hopefully, I'm still popular with her after I share her recipe with the internet. Love ya, Laura~

Ingredients:

1 Medium yellow onion, chopped
1 Clove garlic, minced
4 Celery stalks sliced
3 Tbs vegetable oil
2-1/2 Cups vegetable or chicken broth
1-1/2 Cups orange juice
1-1/2 Cups tomato sauce (14 oz can is fine)
1 Cup water
1 (4 oz) Can green chilies chopped
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
3 - 4 Carrots sliced
3 or 4 Chicken breasts
Pepper Jack cheese grated
Tortilla chips

Chop your celery and onions. Mince garlic and slice carrots. Do yourself a favor and buy pre chopped chiles. I bought the whole so I had to chop.

Saute onion, garlic and celery in 3 Tbs of vegetable oil.

Stir in broth, OJ, tomato sauce, chilies, cilantro and carrots. Simmer until carrots are tender.

In the meantime, cook your chicken. I prefer to cook chicken breast in a non-stick pan. I heat 2 TB of oil on med-high heat, salt and pepper the breast, cook on each side about 5 min on that higher heat, then turn the heat to med-low. Do not cover!!! Big mistake. You end up with boiled chicken. I leave the lid off until almost done - you can tell you've overcooked chicken breast when it doesn't give anymore when you press with the back of your fork. I prefer to a point where it might still be a bit underdone and then take off heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes or so. Its usually perfect. Clear as mud? Sorry.

Cut or shred your chicken into bite size chunks and add to your soup. Cook another 5 minutes or so and its ready. Just make sure your carrots are tender.

Serve by placing tortilla chips (crunched or not) at the bottom of your soup bowl, ladle soup over and top with shredded jack cheese.

Huevos Rancheros Mi Amigos

My second cousin, 27 times removed, and his wife are in town this weekend. Besides driving them crazy with my incessant worries about them getting lost in their rental car, I let them buy me breakfast at my favorite breakfast spot. Located 10 miles up a beautiful canyon in the Wasatch Mountains, Silver Fork Lodge has beautiful views, loads of hummingbirds and great food. Ron ordered the famous oatmeal; Elaine and I split Huevos Rancheros and a beautiful fruit platter. Strawberries, kiwi, canteloupe, blueberries and grapes.

Since Fred didn't go with us, I decided to make my own Rancheros last night for dinner! I pan toasted a flour tortilla, topped it with warm, black beans, eggs over easy, salsa, sour cream and cheddar cheese. I also browned up some hash browns to go with it. The trick to getting your hash browns brown and not too greasy? Use about 3 Tbs oil for 2 cups potatoes, get your oil hot to begin with, but after the potatoes are in, turn the heat on low, flatten them down with a spatula and cook for at least 15 min on each side. I add 2 Tbls butter, cut in small bits, all around the side of the pan and let that melt down into the potatoes. Add salt and black pepper. Adding the butter after you turn the heat down adds flavor and keeps it from burning. Make sure to flatten them again on the second side. Hash browns can't be rushed!!

We chose to sit inside for our breakfast yesteday, the wind was a little much. But the views were fantastic as you can see through that big window!

After breakfast, I took them for a walk around a mountain lake that is just a few miles up the road. We stopped to chat with a fisherman. He was casting for perch.

It was a little grey but so nice. We had a wonderful walk and I look forward to cooking for them tomorrow. They may be treated to Orange Tortilla Soup. Adios!