Brunswick Stew recipe carries me home to "old Virginny"

The grass is always greener. A few days ago I rhapsodized about a taste of home—King Ranch Chicken—which sustained my homesickness for Texas when I lived far away. Today's recipe scratches just the opposite itch--a longing for Virginia, the gorgeous state that was our residence for six years before we moved back to Texas to stay in the year 2000.

That longing calls out to me especially during this time of year, since we spent many a Thanksgiving Day walking up and down the autumn-leaf-strewn streets of Colonial Williamsburg, which in my estimation is one of the best places on the globe to enjoy traditional turkey dinner. Only one hour away from our front door when we lived in Richmond, Colonial Williamsburg was our "therapy spot"—an amazing, closeby getaway that some people travel from from farflung cities to experience.

My taste of All Things Virginia occurs in the form of Brunswick Stew, a typical Virginia dish. Competing claims exist about whether this recipe actually originated in Virginia or Georgia, but most versions are tomato-based and contain chicken and/or pork and various types of vegetables including lima beans, corn, and okra.

In my fall recipe files is a Brunswick Stew recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens website. It was ideal because it was a slow-cooker version and enabled me to use the very last of the okra brought in before the last of our garden's okra plants were felled about a week ago. One big ladleful of this steaming stew and I'm transported back to old Thomas Jefferson's hangout in a city where, for the visitor, time stands still. Thank you, CW, for the Thanksgiving memories!

Brunswick Stew

3 medium onions, cut into thin wedges

2 pounds meaty chicken pieces, skinned

1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham (8 ounces)

1 (14 1.2-ounce can diced tomatoes), or 2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced

1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce

2 cups sliced fresh okra

1 cup fresh or frozen baby lima beans

1 cup fresh or frozen whole-kernel corn

In a 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker place onion. Top with chicken and ham. In a small bowl combine the undrained tomatoes, broth, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, thyme, pepper, and hot pepper sauce; pour over chicken and ham. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat from chicken bones; cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Return chicken to slow cooker; discard bones. Add okra, lima beans, and corn to crockery cooker. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Cover and cook 45 minutes or more until vegetables are tender. Makes 6-8 servings.

Zucchini adds the magic touch to keep this Chicken Tortilla Soup from being ho-hum boring

As everyone knows, Chicken Tortilla Soup recipes are a dime a dozen. Most people have a favorite; most recipes follow a certain predictable pattern of ingredients.

Except this one--it had sliced, fresh zucchini added! Now, how Newfangled Country Gardener-ish can you get? Zucchini, to go with all the other fresh vegetables in this mixture--fresh corn off the cob, fresh tomatoes, cilantro. It sounded as though it would an extremely healthy rendition of an old favorite.

Thank you, Fry's'. (Fry's is not the electronics store but is the Arizona version of our Kroger grocery. When we're in AZ visiting our little family there, we're devoted Fry's shoppers, so we get on the mailing list for the Fry's circular just as we do the Kroger one. (By the way, Fry's and Kroger's are owned by the same parent corporation.) The Fry's circular featured this Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe.)

Talk about a dish that got healthier the longer it stuck around. The first night we served it, I just scattered a dash of cheddar cheese on top. The next day for lunch (I'm telling ya, this recipe made enough for two armies) I topped it with a little dash of sour cream. That night for dinner (this soup was so good, we never tired of leftovers; Hubby tolerated it for both lunch and dinner in the same day) I chopped up some fresh avocado and touched it up with a little more fresh tomato for garnish over all the other items. A meal in one, for sure!

Five meals later (no joke!) today at lunch I think Hubby and I will be polishing off the last morsel of this flavorful, healthy soup. I think the zucchini added the magic touch and kept it from being boring and left-overy. And best of all, it gives us just one more boost in the 5-to-9 fruit-and-vegetables category that we're supposed to have every day.

Never toss out that grocery-store circular without looking over the featured recipes. You might just find a gold mine like we did--probably the best chicken-tortilla soup ever!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 zucchini, cut into cubes

1 can (29-ounces) crushed tomatoes (or 2 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, sliced in chunks)

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup fresh corn, cut off the cob

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

optional toppings: sliced avocados, tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, fresh limes, sour cream, chopped fresh tomatoes (any or all will do)

In a stockpot heat the oil. Add zucchini and saute for 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, corn, cumin, cayenne pepper, and shredded chicken. Heat to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in a handful of chopped cilantro just before serving. To serve place a handful of tortilla chips in the bottom of a soup bowl. Ladle hot soup over the tortilla chips. Add a generous squeeze of lime and top with avocado, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, and sour cream, if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers. Serves 4 to 6.