Well, we finally had a bit of a winter around here, or at least a few days of rain – yay! So I was excited to make soup. It’s hard to get excited about soup when it is 80* outside.

I’ve had this recipe for years and years and it is one of my favorites. Even though it calls for tons of ingredients, the chowder comes together very quickly. It normally takes me about 15 minutes to prep and another 15 to 30 to cook. Plus it is all in one pot – super easy. It is very hearty and even though the thought of eating nacho cheese soup grosses me out, it’s delicious in this soup and I would not leave it out.

Fiesta Chowder
3 T flour
1 (1.4 ounce) package fajita seasoning, divided
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
3 T oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 t minced garlic
2 cups frozen corn
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can of Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chiles
3 cups water
1 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can nacho cheese soup
3 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T lime juice
Garnish with more fresh cilantro, olives, Cotija cheese or whatever sounds good to you.

Combine flour and 2T of fajita seasoning in a zip top bag; add chicken pieces and shake to coat. Cook coated chicken in the hot oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over high heat, stirring often for 4 minutes or until browned. Reduce heat to medium and add onion and garlic; sauté for about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining fajita seasoning, corn, black beans, tomatoes, chiles, water and instant brown rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low; cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove lid and add the nacho cheese soup, chopped cilantro and the limes juice. Let simmer for a few more minutes while you are pulling together the rest of the meal. We normally serve ours with salad and some sort of bread or tortilla chips.

Cindy

I have been in a bit of a cooking rut. Since we haven’t really had much of a winter all my plans to make soups and comfort foods have gone out the window. It’s pretty tough to enjoy a bowl of hot chili when it’s 90* out. So Monday I realized I had NO plan for dinner. I noticed a pie crust in the refrigerator that needed to be used and I remembered we had some ground beef in the freezer so my brain started working. In the end, we had this taco pie for dinner. It was simple and delicious and a bit of a change from our regular taco or burrito night.

Taco Pie
1 pie crust
3/4 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 – 16 ounce can refried beans
1- 16 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup frozen corn
Taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Tortilla chips, crushed – approximately 1 cup

Directions:
Unroll pie crust and form into pie plate, trim edges and poke with a fork. Bake for 6 – 8 minutes at 450*.

While the crust is cooking, start getting the filling going. Brown the ground beef in a skillet, add the chopped onion and cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain fat, if necessary. Add the taco seasoning, tomatoes and corn and cook for about 5 minutes.

When the crust is finished, remove from the oven. Turn oven down to 350*

Spread the refried beans carefully on the bottom of your crust. I used a deep dish pie plate, so I was able to use the entire can of beans. If you would rather use a small pie plate, I would use only half the can. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese on next. Then add the ground beef mixture. The pie plate should be pretty full. Add the crushed tortilla chips. I would suggest crushing them pretty well, or it will be difficult to cut through the cooked pie. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top.

Bake at 350* for about 15 until the top is bubbly. Garnish with green onions and sour cream.

Cindy