Mexican Soup and Swiss Dessert {Multicultural Meal Plan Mondays}

Traveling to Mexico for a simple and delicious soup;
Followed by a tasty cookie from Switzerland

Growing up along the Mexican border in Southern California, I was fortunate to eat amazing Mexican food and even learned how to make many dishes.  One of my favorites is Posole (also spelled as Pozole) a very traditional Mexican soup, often labor intensive, including cooking a pig’s head in a pot for several hours, and typically consumed for a holiday meal or special celebration.  A few years ago I came across the recipe below that is a great substitution for the traditional Posole using much less ingredients, chicken instead of pork and very quick to make!  It can be ready on your stove in 30 minutes or left in the crock pot all day.

Mexican Chicken-Hominy Soup

(from Cooking Light Magazine December 2010)
(also known as Posole/Pozole)
For Crock Pot or 30 Minutes on the Stove

1 TBS Olive Oil
1-2 chopped onions
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (can add seeds for more heat)
1 rotisserie chicken (I just chop all of the chicken pieces-could use 2 cups shredded chicken if you don’t want leftovers
Pepper to taste
2 cans (14 ounce) chicken broth
1 Chicken bouillon cube
1 can hominy, rinsed and drained (in Spanish section at store)
4-7 carrots, chopped
2-5 celery, chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 limes
Radishes if you like to top

Directions:
Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onions and carrots to pan, sauté for 5 minutes (or until carrots softened if you are not putting in crock pot).  Add celery, garlic, jalapeno pepper, salt/pepper and sauté for few minutes.  Add hominy, and 2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Add bouillon cube.  (Usually I transfer to the crock pot at this stage on low for 2-4 hours) Add chicken, remaining broth and cilantro.  If you are not using the crock pot, simmer for 20 minutes or until carrots soft and you have a yummy warm meal.

If you want a huge crock pot full I use 2 cartons of chicken broth and add 1 ½ cups of water as well and it can feed up to 8 people.

I serve with tortilla chips – kids like to dip chips in soup or I serve warm corn tortillas.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Swiss Cookie Bratzili

Recipe by Grandma Rositta

Every year in December my Grandma and Grandpa (both 100% Swiss on my Father’s side) make batches and batches of the Swiss cookie Bratzili (also spelled Brazeli).  They are a thin, delicate and delicious cookie made in a special iron.  My grandparents’ iron was purchased during a trip to Switzerland in 1976 for $450 US dollars and shipped to their home in the United States. An Italian iron called a pizzelle is sold in American home retail stores can also be used to make Bratzili.  Typically we take turns making the cookies as your hand and wrist become very sore after closing and sealing the iron tightly.  These cookies are often given as gifts to all of the grandkids.  One thing I can always remember my Grandma telling me is… how important it is to use Challenge butter.  She said other brands of butter do not have the same finished product.  Bratzili is delicious when served with a warm beverage such as hot tea, coffee or hot cocoa!

Ingredients:
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (Challenge Butter Preferred)
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (very commonly used in Swiss baking)
3 large eggs and 1 yoke at room temperature, lightly beaten
Pam Cooking Spray

 Directions:

1. Using mixer, add butter and sugar.  Add 1 egg at a time. Add lemon zest and vanilla
2. Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Using low speed on mixer, slowly add flour mixture one cup at a time until combined until dough is just soft enough to handle but still slightly sticky.
4. Put dough in plastic bag and kneed, don’t overneed!
5. Place in fridge over night.
6. Remove from fridge a few hours before you are going to make the bratzili so dough won’t be too tough.
7. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls.
8. Coat the bratzili or pizzelle iron with cooking spray, and heat. Place 1 ball of dough in each grid, and press handle down tightly. Cook bratzili until golden (some machines have a green light that will illuminate when done), 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Trim edges, if needed. Let cool completely on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.  Can be given as gifts in a holiday tin.

Heidi Gill
Inspired by the world of commonalities and differences living within her household (Heidi Caucasian/Swiss and her husband, Jag is East Indian) she decided to write a multicultural children’s book series to help teach her children, Hannah (9) and Jacob (6) about other cultures and languages.  Heidi travels to elementary schools in California encouraging children to read, write and learn about other cultures. For more information about Heidi’s children’s books called 2 Kurious Kids visit www.2kuriouskids.com.