Lately, I’ve been inspired by unlikely pairings. Or, maybe you could call them likely pairings, actually. Take Buffalo Wings for instance. This is one of my favorite dishes to gorge on because of the delightful flavor combination of the tangy, zippy Franks Red Hot sauce, creamy blue cheese, and the fresh carrot and celery sticks that accompany the dish. If ever you could apply the term ‘umami’ to an American dish, I dare-say this one would be it. Hot, sweet, sour, and worthy of a faceplant.
Then, you have Chicken Tortilla Soup. Another favorite of mine, which has fond memories from my time at T.G.I. Friday’s. Curtis and I would eat that shit with a TON of cilantro. As far as the buffalo wings go, Carolina and I would eat Franks Red Hot out of bullets (read: itty bitty sauce containers for the non-restaurant worker) BY ITSELF. I think it’s safe to say that we loved the stuff.
And yes. There WAS a time where T.G.I.Friday’s DID use Franks Red Hot for their wings. And made our own blue cheese dressing. And made Tortilla Soup from scratch. And made our Oreo Madness FROM SCRATCH, and the Mud Pies too. Ohhhh those mud pies. Scooping 48 scoops of mocha ice cream… making the chocolate mousse that poured around them, and was frozen in that liquid love dance and topped with crushed oreos. Cutting it was a pain in the ass after it froze, but that’s what had to be done.. You know what though? It was all worth it. You could tell the difference between the real thing, and that pre-made bull crap they switched to in the end.
Ok, so back to the topic at hand. Buffalo Wings and Tortilla Soup. CHICKEN Tortilla Soup.
I recently realized that one of the blogs I follow, Kevin from Closet Cooking, is a Buffalo Chicken obsessed man. Being the Buffalo Chicken obsessed woman I am, I was inspired by him, and I decided to make a creation of my own: Buffalo Chicken Tortilla Soup! ‘Tis good, healthy, spicy, creamy, herby goodness. It is the perfect combination of these two dishes! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Maybe I’ll post the recipe for that Mud Pie someday. Even though it’s a bitch to make, like I said, it’s totally worth it. With all this talk about Mud Pies, you’d think that was what this post was about! Another day, another day! We have BUFFALO CHICKEN here!!!
Cheers!
Do you have a restaurant favorite? Let’s hear it!
Buffalo Chicken Tortilla Soup
By
Published: October 19th, 2012
The merging of two T.G.I.Friday’s classics, Buffalo Wings and Chicken Tortilla Soup. I give you Buffalo Chicken Tortilla Soup!
Ingredients:
2 Corn Tortillas
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 ½ Cups Diced Onion
1 ½ Cups Diced Celery
¼ teaspoon Fresh Cracked Pepper
1 Cup Diced Zucchini
½ – 1 pounds Uncooked, Diced Chicken Breast
1 Box Pomi Chopped Tomatoes (26.46oz or 750g)
1 Cup Chicken Stock
¼ Cup Franks Red Hot
½ Cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves for garnish
½ Cup Blue Cheese Crumbles for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the corn tortillas in half, stack on top of one another, then cut into strips about ¼ inch thick. Spread on a cookie sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes, checking after 15, and until all the moisture is out of them and they are very crunchy. Heat a stock pot over medium heat, and add in the olive oil. Sauté the onions and celery for about 8 minutes, until they are soft and translucent, but not burnt. Add in the salt, pepper, zucchini and raw chicken, and cook until the chicken is almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add in the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, and Franks Red Hot, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, until heated through very well. Divide into four bowls, and top with the crispy tortilla strips, blue cheese, and cilantro.
Prep time: 7 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 27 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (~1 1/2 Cup Per Serving)
Calories per serving: 280
Fat per serving: 9.9g
Saturated Fat per serving: 3.3g
Cholesterol per serving: 60.8mg
Sodium per serving: 947.3mg
Carbohydrates per serving: 24.3g
Fiber per serving: 3g
Sugars per serving: 5.9g
Protein per serving: 23.3g
looks awesome! how are you figuring out the nutritional info? though with all the bacon on my site i probably should avoid that
Thanks!! I figure out the nutritional info from this app/website that you use to track your calorie/nutrition intake… It’s called LoseIt. You can make your own “recipes” based on foods in their database, you can create your own foods by inputting it yourself, or in most cases, by scanning the food item’s bar code. Pretty cool!!
cool will check it out
I remember having tortilla soup growing up and not liking it, but I don’t think my step mom was very adventurous when she made it. Your’s looks awesome! I would most definitely try it again if it looked like yours.
and to answer your other question, My favorite restaurants are mostly burger joints. I guess that’s all I’ve been eating when I go out these days. Well, except for today since I’m about to go to a ramen joint over in Rowland Heights. Nice Picture.
Everything in this sounds amazing!!! 🙂
Thanks Kate!
This is Awesome and for those of you who don’t like bleu cheese try a squiggle of ranch dressing or sour cream on the top or serve it on the side.
Hey Kate! Great suggestions!