Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: soup

Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts

Saturday, March 7, 2026

Nacho Cheese Soup #Recipe Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

This recipe is from Baked by Rachel and is very adaptable. I made adjustments according to what I had on hand and what the family likes. My granddaughter doesn't like onions so I omitted them. She also doesn't like green peppers so I nixed those. I didn't have a jalapeno and my husband doesn't like too much spice so that was okay. You can substitute turkey for the ground beef and I used gluten free flour. Even with the adjustments, it was delicious. You can use your imagination for toppings--sliced green onions, crumbled tortilla chips, sour cream, more cheese, etc.

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained of fat

1 cup yellow onion, chopped

1 cup green bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeño, seeds removed and diced

15 oz corn, drained

15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed well

15 oz petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

3 1/2 cups chicken or beef broth

8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup heavy cream

3 to 4 tablespoons flour

Add the ground beef to a skillet and cook until all pink is gone. Drain off fat. Either add to a pan or to a slow cooker.

Add vegetables, beans, seasonings and broth. Stir to combine.

Cook on the stove for half an hour until the flavors meld or cook on high in the slow cooker for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

When done, stir in shredded cheese.

Mix flour and heavy cream and add to pot or slow cooker. Mix well. Continue cooking on the stove until soup has thickened and is warmed through. Or, in slow cooker, cover and cook for half an hour.

When a wealthy local benefactor is slain on the farm, Monica has to figure out who wanted to cash in on the killing . . .

As Sassamanash Farms hunkers down for the long winter, Monica agrees to let the local animal shelter host their Christmas-themed fundraiser there. The draw of the event—a chance to have your pet’s picture taken with Santa—brings in animal lovers from far and wide. But when the crackling fire dies down and the festive holiday props are all carted away, Monica discovers a very un-jolly sight next to the barn—the dead body of one of the shelter’s biggest donors. With the farm’s good name in jeopardy, Monica goes to work to root out the killer.

By all accounts the victim was a charming and generous supporter of the shelter, but Monica discovers that he was loathed by those who knew him for being tight-fisted and unscrupulous. Suspecting money might be the motive, she turns her sights on his stylish wife and her lavish lifestyle, along with the manager of the struggling shelter, who stood to collect a hefty bequest from his will. But as Monica closes in on one final clue, the culprit closes in on her. Caught unawares, she’ll have to survive the brutal winter weather, as well as a cold-blooded killer . . .

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Friday, February 27, 2026

Chicken Tortilla Soup @MaddieDayAuthor #Giveaway

MADDIE DAY here, with a toasty California-inspired soup for you, plus a California-based giveaway!

The California theme is by design, because I am currently at the Left Coast Crime fan convention in San Francisco. If you're there, please come to our Mystery Lovers' Kitchen panel tomorrow morning!

As a native southern Californian, the taste of corn tortillas and hominy, aka posole, topped with ripe avocado slices, is the flavor of my home state and the Southwest in general. And as a long-time resident of the opposite coast in northeastern Massachusetts, I often crave those tastes.

This soup is quite easy and brings a warm comfort meal in a chilly winter. My protagonist in the Cece Barton Mysteries doesn't eat chicken, so she might make a fish-based or purely vegetarian version.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, minced

1 green pepper, diced

1 yellow, gold, or red pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 chicken breast or 2 thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 quart chicken stock

1 can hominy/posole, drained

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 whole habanero or jalapeno pepper

10 corn tortillas, cut into slivers (flour tortillas won't work in this dish)

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

Sour cream

Directions

Saute the onion in oil until tender. Add peppers and saute until wilted.

Add chicken and saute for a few minutes. Add garlic and saute one minute. Add stock, hominy, and spices. Enclose pepper in a tea ball and float in the soup. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer about an hour.

Add tortilla slivers and heat a few more minutes.

Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and slices of avocado on each bowl. Enjoy!

Readers: What's your favorite Southwestern or Mexican food? I'll send one of you an advance copy of A Poisonous Pour, my third Cece Barton mystery.

🌮🌶🐔

Murder at Cape Costumers is out and available wherever book are sold!

Next up is A Poisonous Pour! This third Cece Barton mystery releases April 28.

My most recent releases are Scone Cold Dead, #13 in the Country Store Mysteries,

Deadly Crush,

and A Case for the Ladies.

Check out all my writing.

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

HOW TO MAKE 1 HOUR CHICKEN SOUP to fight cold & flu symptoms by author Cleo Coyle

From Cleo Coyle: My husband and I had a rough few days dealing with the long stretch of extreme cold weather in New York City. Not as rough as some who lost power (and electric heating) and others who tragically lost their lives.

Our lesser (yet terribly unnerving) challenge occurred at 4 AM Sunday morning when we discovered our intake water pipe had frozen, and we had no water available in the house, including (yikes) the water used to allow our bathrooms to function.

After throwing on clothes and flipping on lights, we spent the next hour in our freezing cold garage with a space heater and a hair dryer, applying heat to what we believed was the section of pipe that had frozen. It worked. To our great relief, the water began to flow again, and we were thankful to have caught the problem before the pipe burst and caused thousands of dollars in damage.

Unfortunately, the stress and interrupted sleep took its toll, and we've come down with the symptoms of a typical winter cold. While chicken soup won't solve our weather problems, it is well worth making if you or your loved ones are suffering from sore throat and congestion. Why? Because...

The science is in, and our grandmothers were right. Studies have shown that properties in chicken soup relieve cold and flu symptoms. Chicken soup not only contains immune boosting properties, but it also has cold-fighting compounds that (among other things) help soothe sore throats and clear nasal congestion. You can read more here and here, although...

Frankly, I didn't need to read the scientific research to know homemade chicken soup has healing powers. By the time I slurp down a bowl, I begin feeling relief.

So, let's get our soup on!

☕ A RECIPE NOTE FROM CLEO

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery
series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

A common method for making chicken soup is to throw the chicken and veggies into the pot and turn up the heat for about 4 hours.

I prefer my method, which is done in one hour, and is just as healthful. Just be sure to use white meat chicken. I find the properties in the white meat especially helpful for cold and flu relief, and that's why I specify using 1/2 of a whole split chicken breast.

Years ago, I first made this soup for my husband after he caught a cold from me. I felt guilty for giving him my cold and was only too happy to bring him a bowl of my chicken soup. I swear, I barely made it back to the kitchen before I heard him crying out from the bedroom...

"This is great! It's helping! It's helping!"

Whether you make this soup for yourself or someone you care about, I sincerely hope it brings you plenty of foodie comfort and good health!

~ Cleo

To download this recipe
in a free PDF document you can

print, save, or share, click here.

Click here for the free PDF.

Cleo Coyle's
One Hour Chicken Soup

Makes about 2 quarts (about 6 servings)

Ingredients:
2 quarts (8 cups) cold water

2 bay leaves

1/2 of a whole, split chicken breast, bone in, skin on (see image below)

1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

5 to 6 ribs of celery, chopped (about 2 cups)

4 peeled carrots, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 to 3 envelopes of Goya's Sazon without Annatto (or see my note below for other options)**
Finishing salt (such as French Grey or another coarse sea salt)

**Note: This soup will be bland without seasonings. Although Goya Sazon without Annatto is my favorite, you can substitute 2 to 3 chicken bouillon cubes (or packets) combined with a spice blend that can include your favorites or try onion powder and/or garlic powder and ground black or white pepper. Certainly, add any other herbs or spices that you enjoy (e.g., cumin, paprika, thyme, rosemary).

DIRECTIONS:

Step 1: Pour the cold water into the pot. Throw in the bay leaves. Bring the water to a brisk boil. Place the chicken into the pot, skin side down. (The meaty part of the breast should be submerged in the water.)

From ingredient list, this is what you want:
1/2 of a whole, split chicken breast, bone in, skin on.

Bring the boil down to a simmer, cover the pot with a loose lid, and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes. NOTE: The water in your pot may boil down a bit during this process. Check the pot after 20 minutes and add more fresh water to replenish, but do not add more water after this point. Return to a simmer for the remaining 20 to 25 minutes. ALSO NOTE: If your chicken breast is frozen, cooking time may be longer.

Step 2: When the chicken is cooked enough for the meat to be easily removed from the bone and shredded, take the chicken out of the pot. Add the chopped vegetables, and seasoning (Goya Sazon without Annatto or bouillon cubes and your own spice mix), and boil for another 10 minutes. While veggies are cooking, remove the skin from the chicken breast (and discard). Remove the meat from the bone, shred the breast meat using two forks, and save it for the next step.

Step 3: After the veggies have cooked the full 10 minutes, remove the bay leaves from the pot, and add the shredded chicken. If your chicken breast was very large, hold back a bit of the chicken meat from the soup. Add only enough to keep the ingredients balanced.(*Note: If you'd like to make this a chicken noodle soup, this is the point where you'd add your noodles and cook until they're soft.) Cook the soup for another 6 to 8 minutes. I like to serve the soup with coarse salt on the side. Then salt to taste and...slurp with joy!