By I posted the video on Sunday. I edited it down to eighteen minutes — cut out the parts where I was searching for a lid, the three-minute detour about whether to add parsley, and several long stretches of just stirring. What remained was actually pretty good. Clear, warm, practical. I gave it a title — "Real Chicken Soup From Scratch" — and uploaded it before I could talk myself out of it.
Then I closed my laptop and didn't look at it for two days.
On Tuesday I checked and it had 47 views. I thought: forty-seven people watched something I made in my kitchen. That's a church primary class and three neighbors. Not nothing. By Thursday it was 340. By Sunday it was over 1,200 and there were comments. Real comments from people I didn't know, saying things like "finally someone who explains why, not just what" and "I've been afraid of making broth from scratch my whole life and this made it feel possible."
I read every comment. Then I sat in my kitchen and ate leftover soup and felt something I don't entirely have words for. Not fame, not even success exactly. More like — recognition. Like something I'd been doing quietly had been seen.
Gary asked if I was going to make another one. I said probably. He said, "Good." Mason asked if he could be in it. I said maybe. Noah asked if people could see our kitchen on the internet now. I explained that yes, part of it, just the stove area. He said, "Cool." High praise from a six-year-old.
The soup in that video wasn’t fancy—it was just real, the kind of thing I make when I want the kitchen to feel like it’s working for me instead of against me. This Chicken Tomatillo Soup is the recipe I reach for when I need that same feeling: something with a little brightness from the tomatillos, enough warmth to make you slow down, and a broth you actually built yourself. If forty-seven people—or twelve hundred—ever ask me what to make first, this is what I’d tell them.
Chicken Tomatillo Soup
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 8 oz fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed, quartered
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 poblano peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional for heat)
- 1 can (15 oz) white beans or hominy, drained and rinsed
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- Optional toppings: sliced avocado, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Sear the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Sear 3–4 minutes per side until golden. Remove and set aside—it doesn’t need to be cooked through yet.
- Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to the same pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, poblanos, and jalapeño; cook another 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add tomatillos. Stir in the quartered tomatillos and oregano. Cook 3–4 minutes, pressing them lightly with the back of a spoon so they begin to break down and release their juice.
- Simmer the soup. Return the chicken to the pot. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook 25–30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Shred and finish. Remove the chicken, shred it with two forks, and return it to the pot. Stir in the white beans or hominy and simmer uncovered for 5 more minutes. Squeeze in lime juice and taste for salt.
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh cilantro and any optional toppings you like. Serve with warm tortillas or crusty bread.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 540mg