Channeling my inner Mexican

Full disclosure: I'm not actually Mexican.

I mean, growing up in Southern California, I was often mistaken for being Mexican (or Filipino-- I'm not that either). This is probably because of my mutt-ness (translation: mixed ethnic background) which has lent itself to my being able to blend in in a lot of places. Take NYC for example- there I was often mistaken for Puerto Rican or Dominican. It's really a shame that my Spanish isn't better. Although I'm a good faker.

All that to say, I must have been Mexican in another life because I love Mexican food. It's my go-to comfort food after Japanese, Chinese and Italian (for the record, I'm not Japanese or Italian either-- though, there is some Chinese in here). Alas, Mexican food is virtually impossible to get in England (oh, okay-- GOOD Mexican food). This has led to me trying to make Mexican food. Alas, without an abuela of my own, I'm having a hard time making it authentic. But I am having a go at it.

The latest round started with breakfast. I was craving huevos rancheros and chilequiles from Loteria Grill at the LA Farmer's Market. Oh, lovely chilequiles with choice of salsa and huevos with choice of rancheros. However, because proper ingredients are scarce here (umm-- doritos do not a corn chip make), I can't quite seem to replicate. So I make this instead:

It's essentially a cheese quesadilla with cholula sauce inside and a scrambled egg cooked with chopped green onions and red chiles. I will sometimes add salsa or black beans, but often times I eat it just like this (if you look closely you'll see that I already started before I remembered to take a photo).

My sis then turned me onto a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup from the wonderful Year of Slow Cooking blog at the same time I found one from The Pioneer Woman. Score! More Mexican-flavored goodness (because, as far as I know, neither of these women are Mexican either). I liked elements from both recipes, but wanted to use the slow cooker because, well, I have one (oh, okay-- because it's a hell of a lot easier than standing over the stove). Plus, I didn't exactly have all of the ingredient (because while I glanced at the recipe, it would have made way too much sense to actually write anything down). I chose to boil the chicken with onions and garlic because I think it comes out so much moister (although, I guess it's going in the soup, so it doesn't really matter)-- next time I may roast it like the Pioneer Woman does.

Anyhoo-- here it is: Crockpot 365+Pioneer Woman+Mikie B. Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts
• 2 sm-med white (or yellow) onions, 1 diced, 1 cut into chunks
  
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 8 oz can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 large can of sweet corn
• 1 small jar of salsa
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed (or you can use dried beans, but you need to soak them overnight-- for at least 8 hours-- it's easier to used canned. Too bad I didn't have any...)
• 6 cloves of garlic (mince 3; smash 3)
• 3 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3-4 small, hot chiles, diced (optional)
  
• 4 c chicken broth (I used a combo of chicken bouillon cubes and the stock from the boiled chicken)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 c sour cream
  
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 5 corn tortillas, sliced into strips
  
• Diced avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro, chopped red onion (all optional- for garnish)
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Directions:

• Place chicken in stock pot and cover with water and add chunks of onion, smashed garlic and a tsp of kosher salt
• Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until fully cooked
• Remove chicken and some of the onion/garlic and place in baking dish to cook slightly
• Shred chicken with two forks (or fingers-- which is easier-- if it's cool enough)
• Combine cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano
• While chicken is cooking heat olive oil in a frying pan and saute onion, minced garlic, red and green peppers and half of spice mixture until soft
• Add beans, corn, crushed tomatoes, salsa, veggie mixture, diced chiles (if adding) and shredded chicken to crock pot
• Pour in chicken broth and add tomato paste
• Cook on low heat for 8 hours
• Stir in 1/2 c sour cream and toss in tortilla strips before serving; let sit for 15 minutes to let tortillas soften (you can't get good corn tortillas here, so instead I crumbled tortilla chips-- also not great but it was okay-- on top just before serving). Taste before serving-- I significantly amped up the spices because I like lots of seasoning and it tasted a bit bland, despite the heavy salted ingredients like chicken broth. But feel free to experiment and add/remove things you don't like (e.g. the spice)
  
• Garnish with toppings, as desired