Tonight I made chicken noodle soup from the recipe in the January-February 2009 issue of “Cook's Illustrated.” Turned out great. They suggested getting rid of the ground chicken used to enrich the stock. What a waste. It was perfectly tasty.

I'm visiting my sister and her family as they prepare for an international trip. My brother-in-law asked me to cook dinner. Deal! I decided to make mjadara and chicken tortilla soup using this recipe.

But here's the problem. I'm in Canada, and the stores don't stock hominy. I forgot to buy black beans. I hate cilantro. And the idea of garnishing the soup with avocados and green onions on top just seems silly. So I ended up using this variation:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups whole corn kernels, cooked
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• About a pound of chicken thighs, boiled, shredded, broth reserved
• crushed tortilla chips

Not too complicated. Saute the onions till translucent. Add garlic and saute till fragrant. Add chili powder, oregano, cook for a minute or two. Add tomatoes. Boil gently for five or ten minutes. Add chicken and corn. Add some salt and pepper to tasted. Add broth to make consistency you like and let it simmer for ten minutes to mix flavors. Check flavors. Adjust seasonings. Simmer longer if you like.

The amazing thing is that my niece and nephew ate it without complaint. My nephew even had seconds!

Ingredients

Divided into four portions, that's about 235 calories per serving, but bear in mind that the package of chicken breasts assumes that each breast is 7 oz.

Procedure

1. Put onions and then chicken in crockpot. Mix these spices

   • 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
   • 2 tsp garlic powder
   • 2 tsp onion powder
   • 1 tsp ground cumin
   • ½ tsp red pepper

   with ½ cup of water. Pour over chicken. Cook on high for 2 hours on the porch.

2. Add green chiles. Cook for another hour (maybe two) on low

This came out pretty tasty. Next time I think I'll add half a teaspoon or a teaspoon of salt.

Ingredients

Divided into four portions, that's about 500 calories per serving. Not something you can eat much of if you are trying to lose weight, but okay at normal weight if you are getting your other carbs from non-starchy fruits and vegetables.

Procedure

1. Put chicken in crockpot. Mix these spices

   • 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
   • 2 tsp garlic powder
   • 2 tsp onion powder
   • 1 tsp ground cumin
   • ½ tsp red pepper

   with ½ cup of water. Pour over chicken. Cook on high for 2 hours.

2. Mix cream cheese, mushrooms, green chiles, and chicken soup. Pour over chicken. Cook for an hour

Ohmigosh, but this stuff is good! I was wondering how to decrease the fat. Maybe use Neufchatel cheese instead?

Second attempt — Sept 2011. This time I used six chicken breasts. Came out way too watery. Next time I'll try it without the chicken soup. Or maybe I'll used a tablespoon of vegetarian chicken broth for add'l flavoring.

Third attempt — Sept 2011

Ingredients

• Frozen chicken breasts 6-7 (one of the frozen bags from Fry's
• Sour cream 8 oz.
• One large onion, chopped
• One can of chopped green chiles, 4 oz.
• 1 tbsp vegetarian “chicken broth” powder
• 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
• 2 tsp onion powder (didn't have this time)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp red pepper
• ½ cup of water

Procedure

Put frozen chicken in crockpot. Pour onions on top. Mix spices and broth powder. Mix with water. Pour over chicken. Cook in crock pot on high for 3 hours. Mix sour cream and green chiles. Mix with contents of crock pot. Cook on high for another hour.

It turned out okay. Sour cream left the juice much less creamy, so next time cream cheese. And next time I'll add a teaspon of salt.

Fourth attempt — Sept 2012

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts, 3 lbs (one of the frozen bags from Fry's
• Cream cheese 8 oz.
• 3/4 large onion, chopped (didn't have a whole one
• One can of chopped green chiles, 4 oz.
• 1 tbsp Mexican “chicken broth” powder
• 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp red pepper
• ½ cup of water

Procedure

Put frozen chicken in crockpot. Pour onions on top. Mix spices and broth powder. Mix with water. Pour over chicken. Cook in crock pot on high for 3 hours. Mix cream cheese and green chiles. Mix with contents of crock pot. Cook on high for another hour.

Turned out good.

Fifth attempt: original recipe, although only three chicken breasts because they were quite large

I decided to make some vaguely taco-tasting ground beef stuff:

I threw in a bunch of spices as well. A bunch of cumin, some Hungarian paprika, some fresh ground pepper,* some thyme, some oregano, two packets of red pepper left over from a Pizza Hut pizza, and some salt. Fried the whole mess up.

That made about 7 cups of stuff, so that means a 2 cup serving has about 442 calories.

How embarrassing is this? This afternoon I made a completely white trash dish. And damned if it didn't hit the spot.

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 3 c. Ritz crackers
• 1 stick butter

Boil chicken breast until done. Remove skin. Chunk chicken in bottom of 9 x 13 inch greased cake pan. Mix 8 ounces sour cream with chicken soup. Spread over chicken. Add 3 cups of fine Ritz cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over mixture. Top with 1 stick melted butter. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Best served with candied sweet potatoes and applesauce.

Today I cooked a garlicky beef daube from How to cook everything. Yesterday I assembled the ingredients so it could marinate overnight. The actually quantities I used were:

I'll divide the recipe up into six parts, which yields 332 calories per serving. That's reasonable for anyone not trying to lose weight, but for my current food Nazi mode, it means I'll have to give something else up in the day.

I have a bone to pick with the original recipe. The only liquid it calls for is one cup of red wine. There is no way that is enough liquid in which to simmer 2-3 pounds of meet for an hour and a half. I added a cup of water. The cuts of meat I had took two hours of simmering to get to the right tenderness, and by the time I had added the last two cloves of garlic in the final step, there was less than a half cup of liquid left.

Taste wise it was fine. I rather wonder, though, why the things I cook don't have that same satisfying feel or taste to them that I get when I eat out or when Mom cooks. Is it because I avoid fat? Is it because my taste buds are now jaded with age? Just don't know.

I made gallina en pipián again last night. I didn't have quite enough pumpkin seeds, so I increased the proportion of peanuts. I'm not all that fond of peanuts, but I'm growing fonder of this recipe. I may try the recipe once more in a large batch to prepare for making it for the family at Christmas.