After a week of flu in bed, and clear liquids. I was ready for something with flavor, still not so far out. I wanted a soup because of my tummy and because the cold around here has been out of this world and so windy! I needed some protein and all I was craving was a nice bowl of soup but not so clear and liquefy that remind me of my days sick in bed. I wanted a small leap to recovery, but delicious with the flavors of Mexican food! So I thought, why not make a creamy soup/stew with all the flavors of tacos, clean and delicious. So here it is! A delicious chicken soup for meat eaters but with alternative ingredients for vegetarians. Let me tell you, not only is creamy and good, clean and warm like a hug but...next day is even better with a piece of rustic bread! So make enough and save for seconds. And get your blankie and a movie!
For me, the trick of making good stews it is in sautéing the meat or tofu or potatoes with the seasonings before adding the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
Ingredients
2 big skinless, boneless organic chicken breasts cut into small cubes ( 2 big sweet or any kind of potatoes cut in medium cubes, note not to cut the potatoes so small that dissolve in the soup ) 1 can (16 ounces) fat-free organic refried beans 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) organic black beans (or organic black bean soup, which was what I used and was so good) 1 cup of my Mexican salsa (or any organic chunky Mexican salsa you might have) 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth (vegetable broth if you are making it vegetarian) 1/2 cup red quinoa 1 cup white wine ( I use a dry chardonay, it makes it better in this recipe but if you don't want to use wine you can just add an extra cup of broth) 1 cup water 3 full tablespoons of my tex-mex mix or an envelope of organic clean taco mix of your own 1 tablespoons of olive oil 4 big garlic cloves mashed 1/4 cup of cilantro 1 jalapeno diced without seeds (optional) 6 organic corn Tortillas salt and pepper to taste (please, don't forget this step)
Procedure
In a big soup pot, add the olive oil and heat until is hot. Add the chicken or potato cubes. If it is the chicken, sauté until is not pink anymore and add the tex-mix seasoning and move around until covers all the chicken. sautéed in low-med heat until starts to brown. If it is the potatoes, add the tex-mix seasonings immediately and sauté a little until all the spices stick to all the potatoes well, but the potatoes are not soft/cook.
Now add the garlic and jalapeno, move around let it sauté and brown until creates little bits with the mix stuck in the bottom.
Now add the cup of wine and scrub the good stuff with your big spoon off the bottom of the pot and unstuck the pieces of chicken or potatoes (careful not to break them, remember you don't have to cook the potatoes like you do the chicken before go to all the steps above)
Make sure you got all the delicious bits dissolve with the wine and now add the salsa, the cilantro, the black beans and the broth, the water. Add the refried beans and dissolve them in the liquid.
Now let it cook until boils in med-high. When it boils add the red quinoa and the tortillas. Put down the heat to low. And cook until the potatoes are soft but hold the form, and the liquid is creamy. And if you are making the chicken instead of potatoes, cook it all until is creamy, like a chowder and the chicken properly cook.
I cook mine until was really creamy and thick. Soup/stew.
But the next day when I reheat, OMG! was a very thick stew of deliciousness and perfect with a big piece of rustic bread!
Top it with Mexican cheeses or just cheddar and tortillas pieces.
Or any toppings like: green onions sour cream avocados cilantro
Enjoy it!
