Chicken Tortilla Soup, The Danish Tex-Mex Version

I don't know about you, but growing up in Texas has caused me to fall in love with chicken tortilla soup. It's everywhere, and thanks to canned foods it's super easy and fast to make.

I no longer live in Texas, but I can still have my chicken tortilla soup, right?

Yeah.

I thought so too!

I did a little improvising and made a big pot full. I've tried to make this recipe both Texan (and American) and Danish friendly. Hopefully, if you try making my recipe, you will be able to easily acquire the ingredients.

Chicken Tortilla Soup, the Danish Tex-Mex version.

Wash, chop, mince your veggies for stock. 

I used 4 large carrots, 2 leeks, 6 or so cloves of garlic and 1 onion, plus about 100 grams of chopped kale. 

In your stock pot/soup pot/whatever pot is big enough, saute veggies in olive oil, adding the kale at the end.

Add 8 cups of water, about 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp coarse ground black pepper.

Then add 2 huge frozen (or thawed) chicken breasts, (mine were brined before freezing) and 2-3 bay leaves.

Let simmer for a little while (maybe 20 min?) until the chicken breasts are done. 

Remove chicken breasts and shred, then return to pot.

Add around 1-2 teaspoons of New Mexico chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, poultry seasoning...adjust to your taste, it's not rocket science.

Then add 1 can of diced tomatoes w/ chili and 1 teaspoon of minced green chilies (For those of you that can get Ro-tel, use that instead, 1 to 2 cans should be plenty ), 1 can of drained black or red beans (I definitely prefer the black, but at the time I only had red), and 1 cup of canned or frozen corn. 

Stir and let simmer, meanwhile coarsely chop 4-6 tortillas (corn or flour...the choice if yours) and add them to the pot.

Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or so. 

Remove bay leaves and serve with a squirt or 2 of lime juice, some shredded cheese, tortilla strips/chips, sour cream, anything you want! I even tried Cool Ranch Doritos the next day for lunch! (Oh yeah! They were good!)

Baked Chili-Lime Tortilla Strips:

Preheat oven to 400-450F/200-232C (I usually just turn the knob to 200-225C.)

Take 2-4 large tortillas cut them into fourths, staking them in one 'pile' and then thin strips.

Then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, one layer is preferred, but it doesn't have to be perfect. 

Spray the strips with cooking spray. 

Add salt, pepper, chili powder, and lime juice - to taste, and toss to coat.

Bake for about 15 minutes (or until slightly brown). 

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Fall Decorations

I've finally decorated for fall. I am doubtful I will get any more done, but I'm happy with the simple decor I have at the moment.

What do you think? Does it pass for fall?

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

**Warning**
These cookies are highly addicting!

3 cups (275 grams) of oats
1 ½ cups (231 grams) of flour
1 cup (200 grams) of brown sugar
¾ cup (143 grams) of granulated sugar
¾ cup (135 grams) of pumpkin
1 cup (2 sticks)/(220 grams) of butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves
1 ½ (269 grams) cups of chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350F/177C.

Cream together butter and sugar.

Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Add all remaining ingredients except for the oats and chocolate chips and mix on low until a well-blended batter forms.

Stir in oats and chips.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (it actually helps to use two, so you can prep one while the other is in the oven).

Drop about a tablespoon full of batter onto the sheet. These cookies didn't spread much, so you can put them fairly close together.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until you can see some light browning on the bottom.

Cool on a wire rack.

Try not to eat them all at once, thankfully the oats make them very filling.

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Be Different Act Normal

The Eyebrow

I've got several posts I want to write, but haven't had the time to write them. So, today I will just post the progress of the eyebrow. You remember how it initially looked?

Two days after the accident happened, it looked like this.

Tuesday he had the sutures removed, but it wasn't holding well, so they steri-stripped him. The steri-strips only lasted a day, but thankfully by then it was holding closed. I took a pic yesterday, and here's how it looks now.

Aside from needing his eyebrows waxed, I'd say it looks pretty good!

Hoo Are You? #59

1. Do you like the season, Fall? I love Fall! Read my thoughts on all the seasons on my Hoo Are You #54 post.
2. What is your favorite fall smell?Well, anything warm and spicy. Right now I've got plain ol' clove oil in my oil burner. I love the smell of the leaves in the forest, and I love going outside at night and smelling pine, cedar, or maple wood burning from peoples' fireplaces!
3. What is your favorite activity to do in the fall?Lately it seems like my favorite activity is baking. I've been doing a ton of that. I love being 'old school' and cranking up my oven for heat.
4. Do you dress in fall colors during the season?I think I tend to wear a lot of olive green, black, cream, red, and purple in the fall.
5. Name 4 qualities about yourself that start with each letter in the word FALL! (It's ok to brag yourself up)FeistyAdaptable or AbnormalLeftyLoyal 

Pebernødder aka Danish Pepper Nuts

It's getting close to Christmas, 60 days to be exact.
(That stresses me out just thinking about it!)

Anyway, since it's coming soon, I thought I'd post my recipe for a traditional Christmas cookie here in Denmark, Pebernødder. According to Wiki, these little cookies have a multitude of names, and varieties from several different countries.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (225 grams) butter, softened

1 cup (200 grams) sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons white pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups (345 grams) all purpose flour + extra as needed

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F/177C.

Lightly grease (or cover with parchment paper) baking pans.

Cream together butter and sugar.

Mix in 1 egg at a time, beating well after each.

Add spices and salt and mix until well blended.

Mix in flour, slowly, 1 cup at a time, until the dough begins to gather.

Add more flour if needed until the dough about the same consistency as pizza dough, then pinch off a large amount and roll it into a 'snake', you may need to flour your hands beforehand, as this may get a little sticky.

 

Cut the 'snake' into small pieces to roll into balls 

(or, if you want just leave the pieces as is).

Place the raw cookie balls onto the baking sheets. (You will have 200 or so.)

Bake from about 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms are a light tan-brown.

Cool for 15 minutes.

These cookies will harden after they have thoroughly cooled.

If you prefer, you can always make larger cookies. I've done this many times to use up my dough when I got tired of rolling up little tiny balls. The larger cookies are usually softer and chewier than the small ones, which are meant to be fairly hard, and eaten with coffee or tea, or even hot chocolate. If you prefer the smaller size, just add more flour to make them harder, or less to make them softer.

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Reasons To Skip the Housework
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Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy
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I ♥ Naptime

When I learn to knit...

I am totally going to knit my husband a pair of these, just to see if he'd actually wear them.

No idea the exact source of this pic, a friend posted it on Facebook. 

P.S. Hope I didn't offend anyone, this is just part of my twisted humor.