Savory Stiletto

I think mid-January is my least favorite time of year. Football is almost over, the once beautiful fluffy snow is now grey slush, there are no days off to look forward to, no parties to get all dolled up for in a little black cocktail dress, the sun hasn’t shown it’s face in weeks, and it has been too cold to go snowboarding. Thanks, but I’m ready for winter to be over!

In a sad attempt to usher in spring and summer a little early, I cranked up my heat, put on a bikini, made a pina colada, and BLASTED Bob Marley as loud as I thought was fair to my neighbors (hope they like reggae!). It definitely boosted my spirits, and let me tell you, trying to decide what to cook for dinner in a bikini totally helps you make healthier choices!

To me, spring and summer foods are all about celebrating bright, fresh flavors. When I think of foods in the summer, I always want something light, bright, and full of incredible tastes and textures. Since it is still the middle of winter in Chicago, there aren’t a ton of options for fresh produce. I mean, sure, there are TONS of root veggies to choose from, and the sad looking tomatoes sitting in a baskets…mmmmm, sign me up. Summer screams corn to me, and since I was dressed, or undressed depending how you look at it, and in the mood for summer, I figured why not visit the frozen food aisle and see what I could come up with.

Now, I mentioned cooking in a bikini makes you rethink some things that you would normally make. For instance, I knew I wouldn’t be adding any heavy cream or extra fat to anything I was making. No way. I’ve been working too hard this New Year (all two weeks of it) to blow my re-discovered six pack on something creamy. Here is my lightened up version of chicken tortilla soup. You won’t even notice the tortillas are missing!

Best savored with some Bob Marley playing in the background and a fun frozen drink in hand. Make your summer come early!

Not Quite Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced into cubes (I cheated and used prepackaged to save some time)
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 12oz bag of frozen corn
• 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced and sautéed
• 2 jalapenos if you like it hot diced
• 2 chipotle peppers diced (I also added 1 TBS of the adobo sauce the chipotles come in)
• 3 TBS cilantro roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• Juice of 3 limes
• Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish (optional)
• Chopped cilantro for garnish

Sauté sweet onion and 1 jalapeno over medium high heat until the onions are tender.

In a large pot, combine 1 ½ cup chicken broth, ½ the bag of frozen corn, ½ the sautéed onions and jalapenos, ¾ can of tomatoes and chiles, chicken, the fresh jalapeno, and lime juice. Heat over medium low.
While that is cooking, combing the remaining ingredients in a blender and puree. The consistency will be almost like a wet cornbread batter. Pour that mixture into the pot and heat through. Garnish with some cheese and cilantro.

My thoughts:

This absolutely made me feel like it was summer time. It came together in about 20 minutes, and it tastes phenomenal! Seriously, out of this world!!!!! In case you haven’t noticed, I love spicy food. It’s my all time favorite, and this certainly didn’t disappoint. You can adjust the level of heat by removing some of the jalapeno or chipotle or both. The texture was better than normal tortilla soup. It tasted sinfully delicious, like I had added heavy cream or tortillas. And the best part? I can enjoy this soup and not worry at all about losing that six-pack! Enjoy!!