The virgin birth, a rejected book, and the courage to be Jesus

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The virgin birth, a rejected book, and the courage to be Jesus

First Meal I Made All By Myself (well, in several months, anyway!)

Tortilla Soup

Makes about 1 gallon, I’m guessing?  Eight to ten big bowls of it.

I started with four frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts arranged in a large soup pot over a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  As the frozen chicken thawed and cooked in the covered pot, it created it’s own poaching/steaming liquid.  On top of the chicken pieces, I liberally sprinkled the following:

The contents of two bags of YOGI Aztec Sweet Chili Tea

3 pinches of chipotle pepper shreds (Archer Farms, from Target)

Dash of dried oregano

½ teaspoon whole black peppercorn, very coarsely crushed

Several pinches crushed red pepper flakes (Archer Farms)

Pinch of dry onion powder (homemade from Just Dried Onions)

Pinch of roasted garlic powder (homemade from Just Dried Roasted Garlic)

Zest of a small lemon

Juice of the lemon

Dusting of cinnamon

¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (the julienned ones from Costco)

2 tablespoons of the liquid from the thawed roasted Hatch chilies a neighbor brought me from Albuquerque

Sea salt

When the chicken was cooked through and shreddable, I removed it to cutting board and added to the pot:

1 carrot, peeled and sliced into rounds

2 ribs of celery, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped coarsely

1 medium onion, diced

1 tomatillo, diced

1 zucchini, peeled and diced

One 15-ounce can of diced, fire-roasted tomatoes (Muir Glen)

Cover and simmer together until tender but not mushy.  Shred the chicken.  Return the chicken to the pot and add 2 quarts of chicken stock (Pacific organic, free-range Chicken Broth).  Heat through and serve.  Or bring to boil, turn off the heat without uncovering pot, and let sit for 30 minutes to several hours to let the flavors really meld without overcooking (this option not recommended for the ptomaine-phobic, but I swear I’ve never given anyone food poisoning).

Garnish at the table with:

Chopped cilantro

Diced avocado

Sour cream

Roasted corn

Mashed roasted Hatch chilies

Corn tortilla strips, fried in oil

Or add it all into the soup pot before serving if everyone can/will eat them!