Chicken Tortilla Soup

Have you ever received a recipe from a friend, and when you've made it, and received a lot of compliments on it, wanted to own it?  I might have.  Except I don't.  I just can't.  I feel bad and I feel like I need to give the person credit.  About a year ago I realized that if I change something in a recipe it makes it mine.  However, with this recipe I must admit that I got the inspiration from my good friend, Annie.  She is an amazing cook/baker (check out her website @ http://www.sweetannieskitchenblog.wordpress.com/. Since then I've made a lot of different changes to it to where I feel like I can own it now and I don't feel so guilty.  Whenever I make this recipe I become the "friend who makes the best tortilla soup".  I make it for my family often, but it's also a default recipe for any time I bring a friend a meal.  It also freezes amazingly and you can just throw it in the crock pot to thaw it out.  So, here's the recipe (feel free to change it up and call it your own!)...

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

3 chicken breasts (boiled then shredded then add)

1/4 cup taco seasoning (Costco has it cheapest)

small can of diced mild green chiles (medium if you like more spice)

1 can of black olives (chopped)

1 can of corn or 1 cup of frozen corn (I prefer the later)

2+ cups of chicken broth (depends on how watery or thick you like it)

1 can of black, kidney or refried beans

1/2 cup of rice (any kind)
1 can diced tomatoes

*Tapatio hot sauce if you can handle it (I can't.  I actually feel like I'm on fire.)

Add all of the above ingredients to a crock pot and cook for at least 4 hours.  Optional toppings: cheese, sour cream, cilantro, avacado.  Serve with chips.  Our favorite kind of chips are Juanitas.  They're actually the only kind we'll buy and serve.  You can find them at Safeway and Albertson's.  They're inexpensive too.  

Let me know what you think!  Any other ingredients you can think of that would make it better?  Any favorite meals you like to cook?  I love sharing recipes with my friends because it inspires me to try things I normally wouldn't.  

Decorating with plates and windows

I love vintage decor (or at least decor that looks vintage).  I also love decor that's inexpensive and unique.  A friend of mine owns an old home and had some of the original windows.  She gave me a couple as she saw no use for them.  I did!  In the past few homes I've lived in I've always had this same decor hanging on the wall.

In this particular window the glass had broken and fallen out.  I scraped off as much of the old paint as I could and repainted it because old windows mean old paint that can contain lead.  I hung it and then used plate hangers to hang each plate.  These are vintage looking dessert/salad sized plates but they are actually fairly new.  I love Anthropologie and Home Goods for these things. If you cannot get your hands on an old window try going to a Habitat For Humanity store or any kind of junk yard that has old doors and windows.  They will usually let you barter with them.  It's much cuter against a wall of a different color than the window.  Mine kind of blends in like this.  Another option is putting different colored paper or material behind each window section.  That can add a lot of color to a room.  Grab a window and share some pictures of what you make!