Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup

I haven’t been feeling good lately, it’s taken 2 weeks to get over this cold! Today, I wanted some chicken tortilla soup from Grins but I wasn’t about to drive to San Marcos for some. This is my attempt to make something equivalent and I think it works! Let me know your thoughts if you give this recipe a try.

Chicken Tortilla Soup, Grins Style

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print
  • 48 oz chicken broth
  • 12.5 oz canned chicken (or shredded rotisserie chicken)
  • 28 oz canned tomatoes and diced green chilies
  • 15.5 oz canned golden hominy
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 TBS taco seasoning
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder
  • tortilla chip strips
  • shredded mozzarella cheese
  • sliced avocado

Bring chicken broth and chicken to boil, stir.

Add in canned tomatoes and diced green chilies, stir.

Add in all spices and seasonings, stir.

Add golden hominy, stir.

When thoroughly heated and combined (about 30 minutes), serve with tortilla strips, shredded mozzarella cheese, and avocados. Enjoy!

 

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Erin’s Chicken Caldo

About 2 years ago, I ask the hive minds on Facebook what I should make for dinner. I got a ton of responses but I had to make meals for the week for not only me but also my parents, who don’t eat beef or pork. My friend Erin suggested making caldo or Mexican soup. My parents and I enjoyed it a lot so I decided to make it again today. I made enough to feed an army so I’ll probably freeze a bunch of it for the next time I need soup!

Erin's Chicken Caldo

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  • Olive Oil
  • Medium onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Any cut of chicken (I use thighs)
  • Carrots
  • Small head of cabbage
  • Yellow squash & Zucchini
  • Chicken broth
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Powder
  • Canned Kernel Corn
  • Rotel
  • Package of yellow rice with saffron

With the exception of the garlic (which is also a flexible amount), all the amounts of  ingredients are dependent on how large your stew pot is.

Start by chopping everything into bite sized pieces in order listed above. Try to make each vegetable piece even in size.

I started by sautéing 1 medium onion in olive oil with a bit of salt. 

Then, I cut up the chicken thighs into 1″ pieces and minced the garlic. You can see the garlic at the top right of the cutting board. This is a family pack of chicken thighs. The chicken went into the pot to start browning. Then, I cut up the carrots into bite-sized pieces. I also cut the head of cabbage into fairly small pieces but nothing like the other veggies, since the leaves would separate.

I added the carrots and cabbage to the chicken to let them sweat a bit. I also added a bit more salt here. Try to add in small amounts of salt in layers. 

I also added about 2 tablespoons of garlic powder to the pot.

Next, the chicken broth went into the pot. I probably added too much for this pot size with all the ingredients. I had to let a bunch boil off when it was all said and done.

I chopped up 2 yellow squash and 2 zucchini into sauté-sized slices and into the pot it went. 

Once it cooked a bit, I added a can of Rotes and a can of whole kernel corn. 

 

Here’s the final bowl of soup with a spoonful of the yellow rice cooked to package instructions.

If you want to be really authentic, add a squeeze of lime and a slice of avocado on top.

Enjoy!

That’s a Tasty Meatball!

The internet is full of interesting looking recipes these days. Some are easy, some are difficult. Some seem easy but are really difficult. This one that I found through FB was quite simple. Of course, there were a few tweaks I made to the recipe. Here you go, pictures of the process and all!

Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  • 1 lb spicy Italian sausage
  • 1 lb ground beef (lower the fat, the better)
  • 2 TBS. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. Pink Himalayan salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 2 or 3 mozzarella cheese sticks
  • 8 oz. mozarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. You’ll need a pan you can put into the oven at this temperature.

Combine the sausage and beef.

Add the garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and parmesan cheese to the meat mixture and mix well.

 

Slice mozzarella sticks into 1/2″ pieces.

 

Oil your pan. Take a small handful of the meat mixture, pat flat in your hand and place a mozzarella stick piece in the middle. Create your meatball, push around a bit in the oil to make sure it won’t stick.

 

Once you’ve filled your pan, place in the oven for about 12 minutes, or until your meatballs are browned. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for another 5 or so minutes, until your cheese is bubbling.

 

Enjoy!

3 Nights in Hamamatsu, Part 1

Once we arrived in Hamamatsu, we got our suitcases, checked into our hotel and wandered the area of the hotel a bit. We were told that karaage (fried chicken), gyoza (Japanese dumplings) and unagi (eel) were specialities of the area so we set out for some gyoza. The front desk suggested we visit a restaurant near the train stop we came into so we headed that way. We learned that larger cities in Japan have a great series of underground passageways to help keep pedestrians safe from crossing busy intersections. In Hamamatsu, this was very useful. In Tokyo, it was still way too easy to get lost underground so we often stayed street level (that is an option still).

Menu picture:

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What we got:

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After we ate:

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It was really yummy! 4 people easily shared that plate of 25 or so gyoza.

Our hotel had a great view of the train station area, too. After I took this picture, I thought about taking one with all the lights in the room off but I really like the way it turned out and kept it as is.

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The next morning, we had a visit with the Deputy Mayor of Hamamatsu. It was a good will type meeting and Keith Bearden was very eloquent with his remarks on our behalf. I was reminded at how passionate he is about music education and was proud to be represented by him and his words. There was a nice gift exchange, accompanied by lots of bowing (of course) as well. This was apparently highly appreciated by the City of Hamamatsu as well because our meeting made the paper!

The Deputy Mayor:

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Keith Bearden speaking wonderfully on our behalf:

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The gift exchange:

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With the Deputy Mayor, Mr. Osada:

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The newspaper article:

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Hamamatsu is known for headquartering several musical instrument companies.  We had a great tour of the Yamaha factory. Unfortunately, they don’t allow any photos inside so I don’t have any to share. It was a great tour, though! The Hamamatsu Musical Instrument Museum is also there. It was so amazing, it will probably get its own post.

Suzuki Motor Co. has their headquarters there and Honda Motor Co. was founded in Hamamatsu. It would have been cool to go see one of those factories (especially since I talked so much about car manufacturers with my student Xavier) but our days were so full, it wouldn’t have been possible to squeeze in another tour somewhere. Maybe next time I’m in Japan without a pre-set schedule, I’ll make a point to go, probably to Honda.

After the City visit, we went to Kaisei Junior High for our first band visit. I’ll write a post on that visit soon. If you’d like to see all the pictures of this day, please view them in my Flickr account:

Hamamatsu, Japan
City of Hamamatsu visit

More adventures, band, band and more bands, to come!
~C

From Tokyo to Hamamatsu, via Dango-zaka, Oshino Hakkai and a view of Mount Fuji

From the Japan Air Self-Defense facilities, we were on the road again, first by motor coach then by Shinkansen or bullet train. Bullet trains have been used in Japan since the 1960s. We are WAY behind on this technology and ability to travel with speed.

We had lunch at Dango-zaka rest area and it was like a Buc-ees! They had food, souvenirs, lovely restrooms and gas. What else can you ask for? The dining there was a food court situation and as I looked through the picture menus (my reading of Japanese is minimal) but I found a picture of  zaru soba (cold buckwheat noodles with a chilled broth) that struck a nostalgia nerve and I knew that was going to be my lunch. I was proud of my ability to order in Japanese and it be understood as well. This was only our first full day in Japan and I was very nervous about how rusty my Japanese speaking skills were.

Also, as I was waiting to put in my order, one of the folks on the trip was having communication issues on how to order his meal at the next restaurant over. They apparently order via a touch screen machine off to the side. You know how Americans tend to speak louder when there’s a language barrier? Apparently, it’s not just Americans! I was able to help translate what my fellow traveler was to do for this lovely couple (I can’t remember who it was, though) and they were able to order their meal. Proud moment there – my Japanese wasn’t as extremely rusty as I had thought!!

So, here’s my yummy lunch from the rest stop:

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The broth is at the bottom left and you dump as much of the green onions, radish and wasabi into it as you’d like, then dip the noodles in before eat

ing. You dip your tempura in that broth as well. It obviously wasn’t homemade but it was certainly yummy!

Once we were done with eating and shopping (the first of many shopping stops) and taking pictures, we headed back on the bus to head to Oshino Hakkai and have a great view of Mount Fuji. There are 8 ponds there that are all fed from the water than comes off Fuji Yama and that water is COLD! The scenery is absolutely spectacular, even when she (Mount Fuji is thought to be a woman with many moods) isn’t wanting to cooperate and has covered herself over with clouds. Or maybe she was not sure what she was in for wit

h the load of crazy Texas band directors coming her way!

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As we approached the area, we spotted a theme park with several large roller coasters. Six Flags over Mount Fuji anyone?

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Of course, there was more shopping, lots of food and great scenery. Our hosts, Ken & Yuriko Murakami and Tomomi Kubo were also delightful in taking photos with as many of us! Many went ahead with hand signs of their respective universities but I choose the typical Japanese peace sign. I have too many university hand signs to deal with!

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Once the shopping was done and pictures were taken, we were back on the road again to Mishima Station, where we’d take our first Shinkansen ride (bullet train)  to Hamamatsu. These bullet trains are SO fast! I got a video of one passing as we waited for ours. There is a chunk of it that is in slo-motion (I love the features of my iPhone!!) but understand that the train passed by in about 10 seconds. Crazy fast!! Often times, people commute via Shinkansen and on the way home, they need to eat dinner. So, you get a bento box and a beer and have a party on the train! Cliff and I had our own little bento box party. Here’s my bento box, complete with the actual wasabi root that you have to grind yourself. SO much more tasty!

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So that was our full first day in Japan. Next part of our journey are the several days we spent in Hamamatsu.

If you’d like to see all the pictures of this day, please view them in my Flickr account:

More adventures, food and shopping (always shopping) to come!
~C

Japan 2018 – Tokyo, part 1

2 years ago, a bunch of my friends went to Japan and posted a ton of pictures on Facebook. I found out who organized the trip (Thank you, Keith Bearden) and decided right then and there that I was going on this trip the next time it was offered. And I did! The next few blog posts will be about various parts of our trip to Japan.

We begin with our trip from Austin>Dallas>Tokyo.

Cliff (my friend and Japan travel buddy) and I took the Megabus from Austin to Dallas. Turned out that Yvonne, who was my trip roommate had also taken the same bus so it was a little bit of a party on the Megabus. Once we got to Dallas, Cliff & I Ubered to our Airbnb, which was a lovely guest suite inside this gorgeous home owned by Nazare & Eric in Flower Mound. If you need to stay somewhere in the DFW area, I highly recommend looking into her Airbnb. She uses the money she makes from her rental to support a family in a 3rd world country overseas that one of her children worked with. They are beautiful people and I hope to spend more time with them in the future!

The next morning, we Ubered to the airport and I left my phone in the Uber. Thank goodness we had several hours before we boarded our flight, hadn’t gone through security yet AND Cliff had called the Uber because we were able to get the phone back without any issues and get our trip actually started. Once through security, we met up with 46 of who would become our closest friends at the gate.

We finally boarded our flight, which was about 13 hours long and began our journey to the Orient. 13 hours is a long flight and although we had all the luxuries offered by coach on JAL, I was tired of being on an airplane!

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Cliff and I were certainly happy to be off the airplane as we loaded our suitcases into the truck at Narita airport. By the way, THAT’S the way to travel with 48 people – have a truck move all the suitcases from hotel to hotel! And this was a cool truck, too. The door opened on the side, much like a transformer. Actually, quite a few things in Japan opened and shut like a transformer.

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From there, we bussed to our hotel, the New Otani Inn, had dinner at the Yebisu Bar nearby, where you can get amazing Yebisu beer that you can’t get in the US anymore, and my cousin Shigemasa joined us after work. I didn’t get a picture of us, though. I was too tired yet excited and forgot.

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel, loaded up the motor coach with slippers and a gift and headed to the Japan Air Self-Defense Base. All the “military” forces in Japan are called “Self-Defense” because after WWII, Japan signed an agreement to not have their own military anymore. They are allowed to defend themselves, however, which is how the various Self-Defense forces came to be. We got a tour of their band facilities and they played a wonderful concert for us!

For pictures from this portion of the trip, please see my Flickr albums:
Tokyo
Japan Air Self-Defense Force Band

Stay tuned for the next portion of our adventure!
~C

Beef and Noodle Stir Fry

Beef and Noodle Stir Fry

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 2 TBS vegetable and sesame oil
  • 10-12 coriander seeds
  • 1 TBS shredded ginger
  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 bag of frozen Asian stir fry veggies
  • 1/2 package rice noodles – vermicelli, cooked
  • salt
  • garlic powder
  • ginger powder
  • soy sauce

Cook rice noodles according to package directions. In a wok or large frying pan, heat oil and coriander seeds. When coriander seeds are browned, remove from oil.

Add shredded ginger to oil and within 10-15 seconds after, add ground beef. Stir until browned. Salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp for me).

Add frozen Asian stir fry veggies and stir until thawed and cooking. Add about 1/2 tsp each of garlic and ginger powder.

Add cooked rice noodles (include about a tsp of water from cooked noodles), a splash of soy sauce (to taste) and stir.

Enjoy!