Chicken Tortilla Soup & Eclair Cake

It's a new week, hence new recipes. This recipe came from a friend in New York's friends' friend (seriously). I have seen a lot of Tortilla Soup recipes, but never tried one myself. Guess it was time. Marc rated it "just OK" but I thought it was good. Try it yourself and let me know what you think...

Chicken Tortilla Soup
(a friend of a friend of a friend)

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (TIP: Boil water in pot. Put chicken in and boil for 6 minutes. Turn off heat completely, but leave pot on hot burner and cover. Set timer for 12 minutes. Remove chicken from water, cool & shred)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
6 T. vegetable oil
1 (28 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
1 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
1 tsp. salt
3 bay leaves
3 cans chicken broth (OR five cups water + 5 boullion cubes)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. frozen corn

Cook and shred chicken. In medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt and bay leaves. Stir. Add broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring to a gentle bubbling simmer and add the beans, corn and shredded chicken. Keep simmering on low for another 20-30 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips (can be homemade by baking sliced flour tortillas), but my personal favorite are Tostitos LIME chips. Place chips in bowl, pour soup over top, and top with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese. YUM!


After school today, Addison helped make this dessert for FHE tonight. Ever since recently watching the movie "Ratatouille," Addison has an increased interest in helping out in the kitchen. This was a great recipe for her to make. It is SO simple--a few prepared ingredients thrown together, no baking and only one bowl to clean. Nice. If you like eclairs and/or Boston cream pie, you'll like this dessert. When I asked Marc if this recipe was a keeper, he quickly responded "DEFINITELY!"

Eclair Cake
(allrecipes.com)

2 (3.5 oz) packages of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 oz) container of frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 c. milk
1 box graham cracker squares
1 container prepared chocolate frosting

In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the pudding mixes, whipped topping and milk.
Arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares in the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan. Evenly spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers and the remaining pudding mixture. Top with final layer of graham crackers.
Spread the frosting over the whole cake up to the edges of the pan.
Cover and chill at least 4 hours before serving.
Serves 12-14.