Chicken Corn Soup….simplified!

One of my fondest childhood memories is my grandmother making a huge pot of Pennsylvania Dutch chicken corn soup or buying it from a Christmas church bazaar. It makes me smile every time I think about it!

About a year ago, I found a great chicken corn soup recipe online, but it tends to take some time to prepare and make it. Therefore, I typically only made the soup on a Saturday or Sunday. But….what if I want it on a weeknight?? There is no way I would have time, especially since I often do not decide what I’m going to make for dinner until I wake up in the morning and sometimes not until I’m at work.

Tonight I tried to recreate the delicious Pennsylvania Dutch chicken corn soup that I’m used to, but with a few short cuts. Below is what I created. Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Quick Chicken Corn Soup

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
4 cups of water
4 cups of chicken stock
5 ears of corn, corn cut from cob
1 can creamed corn
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, put in the chicken breasts and water. Bring to a boil. Continue boiling about 10-15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken and place on a plate to cool. Strain cooking water and return back to pot. Add chicken stock.

While the water and stock come to a boil, cut or shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Add to stock and water.

Then add both the creamed corn and corn cut off the cob. Stir. Cook about 10 minutes.

In a continuous stream, add the lightly beaten eggs. (I actually had an extra egg white that I had added as well.). Cook about 5 minutes, until egg is cooked.

Salt and pepper to taste.

With the soup, I served a grilled (baked) turkey and cheese sandwich as I had done previously.

Little man loved the soup as well, but could not get him to eat the grilled cheese!

ENJOY!!!

Mexican Inspired Dinner — Taco-seaoned Baked Chicken with Black Bean Soup

The yummy meal in the pictured above was created because my husband had asked for baked chicken for dinner tonight. I really wanted to do something different rather than the boring baked chicken I always make. After scouring my pantry, I realized I had several cans of black beans (likely from one of my extreme couponing grocery trips…LOL). So, after some research online, following are the recipes that my mind came up with!

Black Bean Soup —

2 tablespoons

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 15.5-ounce cans black beans, rinsed

2. cups stock (I used chicken stock because I was serving it with chicken)

Green pepper sauce (Tabasco) to taste

Directions: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the green pepper, garlic, onion, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the cumin. Add 2 cans of beans, and stock. In a separate bowl, mash the third can of beans with a fork or potato masher, and add. Add 5-6 dashes of green pepper sauce, or to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.

Serve toppings of your choice. I did avocado cream sauce (see recipe below), chopped green chillies, chopped red onion, shredded cheese.

**Recipe inspired by www.realsimple.com

Avocado Cream Sauce —

1 avocado, chopped

1/3 cup fat free sour cream

2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

2 tbsp lime juice

Salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Mix until incorporated and smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Taco-seasoned Baked Chicken —

8 chicken drumsticks

1 package coating mix, like Shake n’ Bake

1/2 package taco seasoning

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine coating mix and taco seasoning in bag. Place 2-3 chicken pieces into coating mixture. Shake/mix until chicken is coated. Place onto a greased (with cooking spray) baking sheet. Continue until all pieces are coated. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.

**Next time I will try boneless, skinless chicken breast. Preparing in the same manor, but would only bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.

I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as my family did!

Mexican Inspired Dinner — Taco-seaoned Baked Chicken with Black Bean Soup

The yummy meal in the pictured above was created because my husband had asked for baked chicken for dinner tonight. I really wanted to do something different rather than the boring baked chicken I always make. After scouring my pantry, I realized I had several cans of black beans (likely from one of my extreme couponing grocery trips…LOL). So, after some research online, following are the recipes that my mind came up with!

Black Bean Soup —

2 tablespoons

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large onion, chopped kosher salt and black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 15.5-ounce cans black beans, rinsed

2. cups stock (I used chicken stock because I was serving it with chicken)

Green pepper sauce (Tabasco) to taste

Directions: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the green pepper, garlic, onion, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the cumin. Add 2 cans of beans, and stock. In a separate bowl, mash the third can of beans with a fork or potato masher, and add. Add 5-6 dashes of green pepper sauce, or to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.

Serve toppings of your choice. I did avocado cream sauce (see recipe below), chopped green chillies, chopped red onion, shredded cheese.

**Recipe inspired by www.realsimple.com

Avocado Cream Sauce —

1 avocado, chopped

1/3 cup fat free sour cream

2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

2 tbsp lime juice

Salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Mix until incorporated and smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Taco-seasoned Baked Chicken —

8 chicken drumsticks

1 package coating mix, like Shake n’ Bake

1/2 package taco seasoning

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine coating mix and taco seasoning in bag. Place 2-3 chicken pieces into coating mixture. Shake/mix until chicken is coated. Place onto a greased (with cooking spray) baking sheet. Continue until all pieces are coated. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.

**Next time I will try boneless, skinless chicken breast. Preparing in the same manor, but would only bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.

I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as my family did!