Chicken Soup Mexican Style for the Mother's Soul

My husband and son like to put ice in their soup.

Growing up, I never really learned how to cook.  When I was in high school, I was in love with teriyaki chicken and rice, so I managed to pull out a Costco chicken breast from a plastic bag and bake it in the oven for 30 minutes while I threw a pot of rice on the stove.  Well, it was either that or french toast with peanut butter on it.  (I can make a mean french toast by the way.) But, regardless, I was not much of a cook besides those wonderful go-to dishes.

After I was married and had kids, I figured I better learn to cook.  So, to be honest, most of what I know how to make has been taught to me by my mother in law, Patricia and my sister-in-law, Blanca.  They are both really good cooks who can whip up a batch of savory enchiladas or fancy chile reyenos faster than I can eat them.  Through the years I have learned a trick or two from them and one of them is this amazing chicken soup, which I managed to create thanks to my genius furniture rearranging this week.

Notice how the furniture had now been moved to block all of the doorways in and out of the family room.  He will no longer climb Mt. Stairway in my house five times while I am cooking.  Eli may have won the war earlier this week, but mom won the battle. 



Little man can play, and I can cook. 

It is not my best decor layout by any means, but perhaps it is the most functional layout I have ever had.

Check it out below, if you want a quick and easy recipe. Let's face it, with the boys that is all I can do.

Yes, that is an ice cube in Carlo's soup. 

1/2 onion minced
5 carrots
caldo de tomatate bouillon cubes (in the Mexican aisle at Safeway)
8 chicken legs
salt
4 limes
cilantro
1/2 bag of potatoes

1.) Boil half of a pot of water
2.) Stick chicken and bouillon cubes in water for 1/2 hr
3.) While chicken is cooking in boiling water, slice carrots and potatoes into thin sections
4.) After the chicken had been boiling for 1/2 hour, dumb carrots and potatoes in the pot with chicken
5.) Mince the onion and chop up cilantro into small pieces and place on the table with lime wedges
6.)  (Optional) Pull chicken legs out of the pot and throw away the bones after they are cooked about 45 minutes to an hour
7.) Add salt to taste to the pot
8.) Squeeze two limes into the pot
9.) Pour soup in the bowls and add onions, cilantro, and lime after
10.) Enjoy! :)