Pretzel bread soup bowls

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups 110 degree water
1 tsp sea salt
1 TBL sugar
5 cups flour
1 pkg yeast
olive oil (for oiling the bowl)
8 cups water
1/4 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk
1 tsp water
course sea salt

Directions:
Combine sugar and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes till foamy.  Add flour and sea salt and mix on low till blended.  Turn the speed up to medium and mix 5 more minutes till the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl.  Dump the dough out of the bowl and oil the bowl.  Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a towel.  Put in a warm place and let dough rise till doubled, about an hour.
Preheat oven to 450.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  When the dough has risen, divide into 4 or 5 equal pieces and roll into balls.  Place on baking sheet and cover with a towel to rise a little longer, about 15 minutes.  While the dough balls are rising, boil the 8 cups of water and add the baking soda.  Add one dough ball at a time to the water for 1 minute.  Place back on baking sheet and make an "X" on the top of the bread bowls.
With a fork, mix the egg yolk and water and brush egg mixture over bread bowls.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Bake at 450 for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.  Cut around the "X" and scoop out the dough to use as a soup bowl.

Chicken taco soup

I had a bowl of chicken taco soup at a popular chicken fast food restaurant the other day.  It was so good, but when I looked up the ingredients, I was mortified!  Guar gum, carrageenan....No thank you!  I decided to make my own.  Here's what I did:  First, I took 3 tortilla shells and rubbed them with olive oil.  Then, I sprinkled them with my chicken taco seasoning.  I baked them in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes until they were crispy.  Looking back on it now,  I would have cut them into strips before I toasted them in the oven.  

Ingredients for the soup:

64 oz chicken stock or broth

1 cup tomato sauce

2 cans cannelli beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 cup frozen corn

2 cups shredded chicken breast

1 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 onion, diced

4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped

3 green onions, sliced

3-4 TBL chopped cilantro

1 tsp chicken taco seasoning
2 TBL olive oil

Cook chicken and shred.  Set aside.  (Roasted chicken works great for this!)  Heat olive oil in a stock pot.  Saute garlic, onion, jalapeño, and red pepper for about 8 minutes.  Add chicken stock, tomato sauce, black beans, and 1 can of the cannelli beans.  Take the other can of cannelli beans and puree them in a food processor.  Add to the pot.   Bring to just a boil and add chicken.  Turn the heat down to simmer.  Add sun dried tomatoes and chicken taco seasoning.  Simmer for about 1/2 hour, then add green onions, cilantro and diced tomatoes.  Serve with tortilla chips sprinkled on top.

Corn & potato chowder

It's a great time of the year for soup!  I updated Meam's (my grandma) version.

Ingredients:

3 ears of corn, cut off the cob

3 med potatoes, peeled and diced

32 oz chicken broth

1 med onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 TB butter

6 tsp flour

12 oz half-n-half

sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

2 TB cilantro, sliced

Directions:

Wash, peel and dice potatoes and bring just to a boil in a saucepan.  When the water starts to boil, remove from the heat and drain.  Melt butter in a 5 QT stockpot.  Saute onions, garlic and 2/3 (approximately) of the corn for about 5-7 minutes.  Add the flour and mix well to make a rue.  Mash the rest of the corn (I used my small food processor), and add to the pot.  Add the chicken broth and whisk until the rue is dissolved.  Add the potatoes, and keep the heat on med until it starts to boil.  Add half-n-half, a couple of shakes of sea salt and the fresh ground pepper and stir well.  Once the soup starts to bubble, turn down the heat to med-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.  It should thicken once it has bubbled.  Slice cilantro and add just before serving.