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Some of my favorite pictures to take of my children, and has been since they were babies, are the ones where they are sleeping. No, it does not have anything to do with the fact that them sleeping equals me getting to turn off my mom clock for awhile. Because, as any mom knows, the mom clock never gets turned off. It is 24/7, and that is the way that I like it.
I love sleeping pictures because I love how peaceful they look when they are sleeping. I love that I can imagine all of the things that they are dreaming about as they sleep. When they were babies, some of their first smiles came as they were dreaming. And, yes, I think that they were actual smiles. Someone once told me that it was angels whispering in their ears that made them smile. And, I like that. I love the thought of guardian angels….because we think that we have some pretty special ones watching over our children.
So, as you can imagine, I was happy to capture a sleeping picture of my Ethan last night. He had a rough day with allergies and reflux, and I was worried about him. When I went into his room and saw him sleeping so peacefully with his animals, I was so happy. I have looked at the picture so many times today, and it makes me smile each time. It is the absolute picture of peaceful contentment, and I love that. I love that even in the midst of a rough day, a rough week, our dreams take us to a peaceful, happy place.
I have been dreaming about Fall, which is why I decided to make my own dreams come true tonight by making a fall-type comfort food. It is Taco Night in our home, so I went with the Mexican food theme and jumped to Tortilla Soup. I can eat soup winter, spring, summer, or fall. But, it is with those first cool days of the season that I really crave something warm. No, it is not fall here, but we did get some cooler weather this morning. It is with thoughts of Fall being right around the corner that I hope to have my peaceful dreams tonight.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
- 2 cups frozen or fresh corn
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 14 ounce cans diced waters, blended
- 2 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
- Chicken broth, from the cooked chicken
- Cheese, optional
- Crushed tortilla chips, optional
Instructions
- Place chicken in crockpot. Fill with water. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder (This is in addition to the amounts listed above - I just generously sprinkled into the water and onto the chicken). Cook on high for 6 hours. Move the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the broth - it should yield about 8-10 cups.
- Saute the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and jalapeno in a large pot until soft.
- Add the water, about 8 cups of the chicken broth, the blended tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, and seasonings. Bring to a boil.
- While the broth and vegetable mixture is coming to a boil, shred the chicken.
- Add the chicken to the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Serve with your choice of cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
Whether it is Fall that you are wishing for or something else entirely, I hope that you have sweet dreams tonight!
ADORABLE peaceful Precious children! I agree, when children are asleep they look so peaceful and content. Momma’s 24/7 is right, never off the clock!
Thank you so much!!
Ok. I made this for dinner tonight and we LOVED it! Definitely best with the tortilla chips in it. We didn’t use any type of cheese at all. I ate THREE BOWLS of it!! LOL…that was more than I ate all day.
Thanks for the recipes!
I am so glad that you loved it as much as we do. Thank you for reading….and thank you for trying the Chicken Tortilla Soup. Happy Friday!
There is nothing like a picture of sleeping baby. Thanks for sharing. This soup looks so delicious. Come over and visit. We have a terrific stuffed pork chop today.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog! I just now visited yours, as well, and became a fan.
Yummmy…:)) Found ya on hop and officially following ya with smiles..I’m Marilyn from http://theartsygirlconnection.blogspot.com/ and will love for you to stop in sometime…Loving your blog and off to read more
)
Thank you so much! I just stopped by your blog, as well. You are so creative!!