Faijita Chicken Soup

This soup will warm you up on a cold, winter's night. Delicious grilled chicken mixed with onions, peppers, and tomatoes in a flavorful broth will have your family asking for more. I'm not kidding!

Ingredients
1 T olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and diced
5 tomatoes, diced
1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups water
3 grilled chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup salsa verde
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions
Heat olive oil on medium heat in the bottom of a large soup pot. Add onion, jalepeno, tomatoes, and 1 cup of the water. Lightly puree mixture with a handheld blender, leaving some chunks. Add the rest of the water, beans, salsa, chicken, and spices. Let soup simmer for 30-45 minutes. Stir in cheese before serving. Garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, chopped green onion, and avocado.

Apple Pie with Crumble Topping

In honor of St. Nicholas Day and The Ice Storm of 2013, I am making apple pie with crumble topping. I can't tell you how delicious my kitchen smells. You can't go wrong with brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. And don't miss my perfected gluten-free crust recipe. The egg is the key to binding it all together. Also, you must mix the crust in the pie dish as brown rice flour is too fragile to roll out as you would a traditional crust. Yum!

Pie Crust
1 cup brown rice flour
4 T coconut oil or shortening of choice
4 T cold water
1 egg, beaten

In a glass pie dish, cut shortening into rice flour until crumbly. Add water and beaten egg. Mix well. Press crust evenly into bottom and sides of pie dish using moistened finger tips. Set aside.

Pie Filling Ingredients
5 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1-2 t cinnamon
3 T brown rice flour
1/2 cup melted butter or Smart Balance

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix diced apples, sugars, cinnamon, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fill pie crust with apple mixture, mounding apples towards middle.

Crumble Topping
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup butter or Smart Balance, softened

Mix oats, flour, and butter in a medium bowl. Spoon mixture evenly over the top of the apples.

Baking
Bake pie at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for another 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Serves 8.