Mexican Chicken Soup with Spinach and Cheese Quesadillas

There are very few benefits to having a spouse deploy. The only one I have found is that I can cook all the foods I love and he hates. My husband hates soup with a passion. If I wanted to make soup for dinner I would have to also make a second dinner for him. With him out of the country I have been making a lot of soups for myself and the kids.

I have started making one big pot of soup on Monday and then eating my way through it during the week. Cook once eat 10 times (5 lunches and 5 dinners)? I am a fan! It helps that I don’t mind eating the same thing twice a day for an entire week….my husband is also not a fan of repetitive meals. Any of my children who get tired of soup are welcome to make sandwiches or hotdogs instead.

This week’s soup is a Mexican Chicken Soup with Spinach and Cheese Quesadillas.  This is a very easy and cheap soup and quesadilla to make.

Mexican Chicken Soup

1 whole chicken

20 cups of water (give or take depending on your pot size)

1 bell pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

3 cups of tomatoes, diced

2 Tbsp Chili powder

2 tsp Cumin

Salt to taste.

On the first day I roast the whole chicken in my crockpot till cooked through. No spices or liquid added to the crockpot. You can also cook the chicken in a dutch oven in the oven at 375 degrees for 2-3 hours.

Once the chicken is cooked through I remove it from the pan and strip all of the meat off the bones. Chop the meat and place it in the fridge. Add the bones, skin, and drippings back into your crockpot and fill to the top with water. Cook on high over night to make your homemade broth.

After your broth is finished place it in the fridge to cool off. On the evening of the second day when you are ready to make your soup pull the chicken stock from the fridge. Skim off the fat from the top and throw away.

Heat the chicken stock to boiling and add your chicken, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and salt to taste. Let boil till the bell pepper and onions are cooked through.

Spinach and Cheese Quesadillas

1 pack burrito tortillas

1 package provolone cheese

1 Tbsp chili powder

Small container of baby spinach

Heat your griddle pan to medium high and add your tortillas to the pan. Top half of the tortilla with a torn slice or two of cheese, a sprinkle of chili powder, and a small handful of spinach. Fold the top half of the tortilla over to cover the filling.

Heat till the bottom of the tortilla starts to brown and then flip. Once the cheese has melted and the tortilla has browned remove from the heat and cut into triangles. Serve alongside the soup or tear the quesadilla into chunks to act as cheesy dumplings in your soup.