DELICIOUS DALLAS

Our dear friends Becca & Saleem live in Dallas, Texas. We jet setted to see them last December for Saleem's Surprise 30th Birthday party thrown by Becca! His party was a surprise...and Becca wanted us to be there for the real icing on the cake part of the surprise! We had such a great time...not only seeing them and seeing the look on Saleem's face when he walked into the room, but checking out a new city too! Dallas, Texas reminds me a lot of L.A. There are different sections (that you pretty much always have to drive to- like L.A) with cute boutiques and restaurants. The picture below is of all of us on McKinney...a great area to walk around, shop and eat.
Speaking of eating...we did a lot of it! We had an AMAZING brunch at La Duni.
Great drinks and appetizers at Tei Tei...

Becca & I had girl-time breakfast at The Crooked Tree. They have the most delicious Choco Cream coffee...pretty much like a mocha, but soooooooooooo much better!

Being in Dallas, you MUST eat Mexican! So we went to the Galleria Mall and had lunch at Mi Cocina...WOW!

I can't believe that it's been so long since we've seen them! Good news is that they're jet setting to New York this December to visit us...what a treat...we can't wait!

In the meantime, Becca finally shared her Tortilla Soup recipe with me...and since it's Sunday...I want to share it with you. Becca is an AWESOME cook. She made this soup for us once and I have been bugging her for the recipe ever since. And with fall here, this is the perfect thing to make. Thanks Becca & Saleem...we love you guys so much! xoxo

TORTILLA SOUP- Courtesy of Becca Zafar
Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 box chicken broth

2 C water

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 Tablespoon Chile powder

2 jalapeno peppers (remove seeds and dice) - use 1 pepper for less of a kick :)

6 limes (juiced)

3 chicken bouillon cubes

2 (14oz) cans chopped tomatoes

1 - 2 cans of corn ( I like a lot of corn so I add 2 cans) - drain corn

1 bunch cilantro - pull leaves off stems and and rough chop

1 med sweet yellow onion

1 rotisserie chicken (pull apart breast meat with fork)

Garnish with:

shredded cheese

avocado

sour cream

tortilla strips

How:

Heat oil, saute onion for 3 min and then add jalapeno, saute until soft. Add spices, tomatoes (with juice), broth, bouillon cubes, water, lime juice, corn (drained), cilantro and chicken. Stir and be sure that the bouillon cubes are broken up. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low. I usually let the soup stew for a while (a few hours) on low to allow the flavors to meld, but an hour would also be fine. Add your toppings when served to bowls and that's it! :)

ENJOY!!