Southwest Chicken Soup

by
2 comments

I was a little frazzled this weekend and was not sure what to make for dinner. I had everything planned out, but life gets in the way and my plans don’t always come to fruition. I had intended on making mini chicken pot pies with a side salad. When I got home from all my running around on Saturday, I just wasn’t in the mood to do all the prep work for the pot pies. I was really in the mood for some chicken tacos. The chicken had cooked all day in my crock pot and were fall off the bone ready. So I tossed in some homemade taco seasoning and some pico de gallo and let it simmer for while longer.

Long story short, I never got around to eating my chicken taco. Instead, my husband came home and made rice and beans for a side and put all the leftovers in the fridge. The following day, when looking through the fridge to see what I could make for lunch, I found all the components of the night before’s dinner that I never ate. Only thing I hadn’t expected to see was that my husband never drained out the stock I cooked the chicken in. Instead he pored the stock into the same Tupperware with the shredded chicken.

I took the left over rice and beans, poured the taco chicken “soup” overtop and heated it up. Oh my word, was it delicious! Completely not what I was expecting. I couldn’t stop eating it and I knew it was something I had to share with you. I love when unexpected dishes come together so well. This doesn’t happen all too often for me, so when it does I’m over the moon excited. I couldn’t wait to share my new recipe for what I like to call my Southwest Chicken Soup.

Southwest Chicken Soup

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/4 cup pico de gallo (or you can substitute fresh salsa)
1 1/2 tsp Goya Adobo
1 1/2 tsp homemade taco seasoning
1 cup brown rice
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 1/2 cup water

1. Place chicken breast in your crock pot. In a separate bowl add chicken stock, pico de gallo, Adobo and taco seasoning. Stir until taco seasoning is incorporated into stock. Pour over chicken and set crock pot to 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

2. In a saucepan or frying add water and rice and bring to a boil uncovered. Add black beans and corn. Reduce heat and cover, letting the rice mixture simmer for 20 minutes. Once rice is done cooking, turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes (may be left longer but not less than 10 minutes).

3. Remove chicken from crock pot and allow to cook for several minutes. Add rice, black beans and corn to crock pot and stir. Shred chicken and return to crock pot. Stir once more. If your crock pot has a warming setting, allow your soup to warm for about 15-20 minutes. If not, you can turn your crock pot back on to high or transfer your soup to a pot to reheat.

And there you go! It’s even great topped with sliced avocados or garnished with tortilla strips.

If you try out my recipe, I’d love to hear what you think about it! It really is very easy to make and it freezes well too.

Homemade Detergent

by
No comments yet


These days, I’m all about saving a buck! So when I heard from my sister-in-law, Laurissa the DIY Mom, about making your own laundry detergent and how easy it really is, I was all ears! Not to mention that she only spent $4 to make 2 1-gallon battles! Hello, I spend close to $20 for a bottle of Tide. That’s $36 big ones I’ll be saving!
I’m really bad about throwing out old laundry detergent bottles, so I know I have at least 2 or 3 sitting in my basement collecting dust. That’s a great start already! Now all I need is to pick up the following ingredients and I’m making me so homemade laundry detergent!

Recipe #8
2 gallons Water (hot)
1 bar Soap (grated)
2 cups Baking soda (yes baking soda this time–not washing soda)

  • Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until soap is melted.
  • In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted soap, stir well.
  • Then add the baking soda, stir well again.
  • Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load.

Liquid Detergents Note

Soap will be lumpy, goopy and gel-like. This is normal. Just give it a good stir before using. Make sure soap is covered with a lid when not in use. You could also pour the homemade soap in old (and cleaned) laundry detergent bottles and shake well before each use.
*If you can’t find Fels-Naptha locally, you can buy it online (check Amazon).

Optional

You can add between 10 to 15 drops of essential oil (per 2 gallons) to your homemade laundry detergent. Add once the soap has cooled to room temperature. Stir well and cover.

Essential oil ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil

My daughter and I both have eczema, so I’m supposed to get the laundry detergent that is for sensitive skin but I don’t! I know, bad mommy!!! It’s just the cost can sometimes be too much. I’m on a budget here people, and that’s not something I do too well with. I do however use Aveeno soap for the shower and since I have the option of adding essential oils (caution – some essential oils cause skin irritation on sensitive skin, make sure that the oil you select isn’t one of them by clicking here) like lavender to a fragrance free soap. I’m excited to try this new recipe and I’ll let you all know how it goes!

If you’ve tried making your own laundry detergent, what did you think of it? Was it as easy as the recipe described? Would you recommend it to a friend? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave me a line!