1 onion, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

carrots, equal to amount of celery, chopped

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 T chicken broth paste

1 boneless, skinless, chicken breast

chipotle sauce

10 corn tortillas (not chips!)

In stock pot, pour 1-2 T olive oil and cook onion till slightly softened. Add celery & carrots. Add stewed tomatoes and 5 cans of water.  Mix in chicken broth paste to one of the cans of water. Bring to boil over medium heat & cook until vegetables soften.

In a small frying pan, drizzle 1-2 T olive oil. Place chicken breast in and add a little chipotle sauce. How much is up to you. Once the outside is cooked, I take kitchen scissors and cut it up into bite-sized pieces, right in the pan. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the tortillas. Stack them up and cut them in half, the place one half on top of the other so they’re all in one stack. Slice the short way a little over 1/8″ wide.  Once the chicken is cooked through, add it to the soup. Salt to taste. Don’t salt until you’ve added the chicken! The chipotle sauce will flavor and you’ll need less salt.

Don’t rinse the frying pan. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Don’t skimp or the tortillas will stick. Place one tortilla strip in the oil and wait for it to start sizzling. If you add the tortillas before the oil is hot enough, they will absorb all the oil and be a soggy mess. Add all the tortilla strips and cook until crispy. I find using tongs to stir with works best and doesn’t mangle them. You’ll be tempted to stir more than you need to. Again, this will mush them.

Ladel soup into bowls, and place tortillas on top. They sizzle!

Notes:

*I use the little sandblasted carrots. You know, the ones they use for veggie platters. Just cut them in half or 1/4ths. EASY!

*If you have a Costco nearby, get the chicken broth paste. It’s SOO much better than canned or cubed. If you don’t, then just substitute one of the cans of water for a can of chicken broth.

*If you want to make a larger amount, add another can of stewed tomato, so it doesn’t get too watered down. Of course, add more celery and carrots.

*Another time saver is to cook up more than one chicken breast with the chipotle, cut them up and freeze them. Next time, just toss them in the soup!

*Tortillas last for freaking EVER! I just made this last night and the expiration date was well over a month ago, and they were FINE! Good to keep on hand.

4 T olive oil
2 T vinegar (I use seasoned rice vinegar)
dijon mustard, maybe 1/2 to 1 tsp.?
sea salt
fresh pepper

Cut up the fennel and apple and squeeze a little lime juice over it. In a bowl whisk the viniagrette. Add the fennel and apple. You can eat it right away but it’s better to refrigerate and wait an hour or so for the flavors to mix a little.

I don’t measure anything when I make this so I’m guessing on the amounts. It doesn’t matter too much anyway, just go by taste.

Big bowl of spinach leaves. The kind that’s already been washed and dried is best. It will shrink so use lots more than you think you need!

Make sure you do this first! Put one layer in the bowl, then spray balsamic vinegar over it then add a layer of spinach and spray. Three layers is usually good.

In small frying pan, pour enough olive oil to liberally cover the bottom. Add small handful of pinenuts, the olives and sundried tomatoes. Watch constantly because the nuts toast fast and they’re not good burnt. When golden brown, turn off the burner, then add the spinach leaves and quickly mix them to coat with the oil as much as you can, but for only maybe 10-15 seconds tops, or you’ll end up with cooked spinach, not lightly wilted spinach. Pour into serving bowl. Add feta cheese.