Much Appreciated Award and Mexican Chicken Soup

For all my American friends who are celebrating with their families and those that are near and dear to your hearts....HAVE A WONDERFUL AND SAFE THANKSGIVING !!!!!!!!

This is another one of those posts that is filled with information. This is a busy time of year and I find myself not blogging as often as I should. Therefore I end up having information overload in each post....but as long as there is some delicious food and a little "eye candy" I hope you will forgive me!!!

As a young girl growing up in Eastern Canada, and long before the Food Network channel, I had my idols. Yes that's right!! While other young giggly girls were writing gushy, heart endowed fan mail letters to teen hunks like Donny Osmond, David Cassidy of Partridge Family fame and Greg Brady of the Brady Bunch my letters and sentiments were spent with thank you notes to Graham Kerr of The Galloping Gourmet, Steven Yan of Yan Can Cook and the other cooking icons of the day . Yes that's right again!!!I was a normal child who watched The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour and The Wide World of Disney but my fantasies moved into the kitchen. Perhaps this was because I was rarely allowed into the kitchen. My mom was not an inspired cook for a finicky family, but she loved to watch these cooking shows as well. We bonded over planning dinner parties and menus. Instead of makeup and dolls I collected recipes and planned my future china and table decor.

With the invention of the Food Network (probably about the same time as the dinasaur roamed freely...wink...wink...)more and more idols were created for me in my kitchen. As part of my continued saga of being part of the illustrious group the Barefoot Bloggers I am rolling up my shirt sleeves and cooking up a storm with one of my idols the Barefoot Contessa herself and all the other wonderful members of this close knit group. We're cooks and bakers with a love of all things Ina. We test and retest Ina Garten's recipes as a whole and then blog about our results and recipes on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month. This gives me the opportunity to try more of Ina's recipes as well as not having to think of what's for dinner at least 2 nights in the month!! Bonus!!! This time around the recipe was chosen by Judy from Judy’s Gross Eats. She has chosen Mexican Chicken Soup which can be found in Barefoot Contessa at Home.

Before I move on to the recipe I would like to thank Shari a fellow Canadian from Whisk: A Food Blog who has bestowed the Butterfly Award to me. I am truly honoured by this award Shari coming from you and would like to pass it on to the first 5 bloggers who commented on my last post. This just makes it easier and rids me of the guilt of having to choose only a few of my blogging friends. There are so many of you that deserve praise and accolades!!! So here are the first 5 who made a comment .....

Tanna at My Kitchen in Half Cups
Rosie of Rosie Bakes a "Peace" of Cake
Darius T. Williams of Every Day Cookin'
Beth of Jam and Clotted Cream
Peter G. of Souvlaki for the Soul

Back to our regular broadcast............

The soup asks for cooked and shredded chicken but what about that TURKEY you have taking up room in your fridge after the Thanksgiving holiday!!!!!

The Barefoot Bloggers have made 48,820 Friday night dinners for Jeffrey!!!!

“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.”Louis P. De Gouy

**Mexican Chicken Soup**

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas

For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using.

Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.