spicy soup and goings on....

Molly's Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 large bone/skinless chicken breasts, cubed in 1-inch pieces
1-2 red bell peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
1.5 cups frozen corn
1 can pinto or black beans, undrained(or not, you decide)
1 can no-salt diced tomatoes
1T olive oil
2 broth cubes
8 cups water
2T chili powder
1.5tsp cumin
1T garlic powder
1tsp file gumbo
1tsp oregano
dash cayenne pepper
(all spice measurements are approximate, I pour straight from the jar, no spoons involved!)

Cook chicken, onions and peppers in olive oil over medium-high heat until veggies are soft and meat is about half done. Add broth cubes, water and spices. Cover and
cook on med-low for about an hour. Serve soup ladled over a handful of crushed tortilla chips and about 2T grated cheese. Sour cream on top is optional but does make it ooooh so good!


In other news...

The kids and I pulled up most of the carpet in the living room yesterday!!!! We have a section about 10x6 left but Mark will have to help us move some large furniture first. We'll continue scraping glue today. I am excited about how this will end up looking but nervous about my glass dishes. Sarah drops things like nobody I've ever seen! We may have to invest in some good plastic cups.

I'm going this morning to get milk for our co-op and hoping the farmer has brought some butternut squash to the dairy for sale. The last two were wonderful but I didn't get much out of the watermelons and cantelopes we bought from him.