Chicken Taco Soup

Since you're talking about your Taco Seasoning, I think we can make this into a really good thick, hearty chicken taco soup rather than a watery soup.

🌮 Chicken Taco Soup

Serves: 6–8

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 30–40 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1½ lb

2 tbsp Mitch & Tonya's Taco Seasoning

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz) corn, drained

4 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp chili powder, optional

½ cup cream cheese, softened

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

Cook the onion.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4–5 minutes until softened.

Add the garlic and chicken.

Add the garlic and chicken breasts.

Season it.

Sprinkle the 2 tbsp Taco Seasoning, cumin, black pepper and optional chili powder over the chicken.

Build the soup.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomatoes with green chilies, black beans, corn, tomato paste and chicken broth.

Simmer.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 25–30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Shred the chicken.

Remove the chicken, shred it with two forks, and return it to the pot.

Make it creamy.

Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the cream cheese until completely melted, then stir in the ½ cup cheddar.

Taste and adjust.

Give it a taste. Your Taco Seasoning should provide most of the taco flavor, so I'd wait until the very end before adding any salt.

🌮 Toppings

This is where it gets really good:

Shredded cheddar

Sour cream

Green onions

Diced avocado

Crushed tortilla chips

Jalapeños

A squeeze of lime

Fresh cilantro if you like it

One change I'd make specifically for your Taco Seasoning: start with 2 tablespoons, rather than the 3 tablespoons you used in the Hamburger Helper-style recipe. Soup gives the seasoning plenty of liquid to disperse through, and you can always add another tablespoon near the end if you want it stronger.

Honey Garlic Taco Shrimp, Sausage & Broccoli

Mitch & Tonya’s Taco Seasoning fits this recipe surprisingly well. I’d make it a deliberate part of the sauce rather than just sprinkling it in at the end.

Honey Garlic Taco Shrimp, Sausage & Broccoli

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15–20 minutes

A sweet, garlicky skillet with smoky sausage, tender shrimp, broccoli, and the savory kick of Mitch & Tonya’s Taco Seasoning.

Ingredients

Main Dish

1 lb (450 g) large shrimp, peeled and deveined

12 oz (340 g) smoked sausage, sliced into coins

4 cups broccoli florets

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp butter

3–4 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, sliced — optional

Cooked white rice, for serving

Honey Garlic Taco Sauce

⅓ cup honey

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp Mitch & Tonya’s Taco Seasoning

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp sesame oil — optional

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp red pepper flakes — optional

1 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp cold water

Directions

1. Make the sauce

In a bowl, whisk together the honey, low-sodium soy sauce, ketchup, Taco Seasoning, lemon juice, brown sugar, sesame oil, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Set aside.

2. Brown the sausage

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the sliced sausage and cook for 3–4 minutes, turning occasionally, until nicely browned.

Remove the sausage from the skillet and set aside.

3. Cook the broccoli

Add the butter to the same skillet.

Add the broccoli and cook for about 3–4 minutes.

Add 2–3 tablespoons of water, cover the skillet, and steam for another 2 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green and just tender.

4. Add the shrimp

Add the shrimp and minced garlic.

Cook for approximately 2 minutes per side, until the shrimp are pink and opaque.

Don't overcook them.

5. Bring everything together

Return the browned sausage to the skillet.

Pour the honey-garlic taco sauce over everything and gently toss to coat.

Bring it to a gentle simmer.

6. Thicken the sauce

Mix the cornstarch and cold water together until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the skillet while stirring.

Cook for 1–2 minutes, until the sauce becomes glossy and thick enough to coat the shrimp, sausage and broccoli.

7. Serve

Sprinkle with sliced green onion if desired.

Serve over hot white rice, spooning plenty of that honey-garlic taco sauce over the top.

Mitch & Tonya's Tip

Start with 2 tablespoons of Taco Seasoning. If you want a stronger taco flavour, increase it to 2½–3 tablespoons.

The combination of honey + garlic + Taco Seasoning + smoked sausage + shrimp gives this a really interesting sweet/savory flavour without turning it into a traditional taco dish.

Southern-Style Butter Shrimp, Steak & Rice

Here’s a Southern-Style Butter Shrimp, Steak & Rice recipe—juicy steak, buttery garlic shrimp, and seasoned rice all in one hearty meal. 🍤🥩🍚

🥩🍤 Southern Butter Shrimp & Steak with Rice

Serves: 4
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25–30 minutes

Ingredients

For the steak & shrimp:

• 1 lb steak, cut into bite-sized pieces

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 4 tbsp butter, divided

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning

• ½ tsp onion powder

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ½ tsp black pepper

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper — optional

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

For the rice:

• 1½ cups long-grain white rice

• 2¾ cups chicken broth

• 2 tbsp butter

• ½ small onion, finely diced

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• ½ tsp Cajun seasoning

• ½ tsp smoked paprika

• Salt and pepper to taste

🍚 Make the rice

1. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add onion and cook for 2–3 minutes.

3. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

4. Stir in the rice, Cajun seasoning and smoked paprika.

5. Pour in the chicken broth.

6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

7. Cover and simmer for about 18 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

8. Remove from heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

🥩 Cook the steak

1. Pat the steak pieces dry.

2. Toss with smoked paprika, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper.

3. Heat olive oil and 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high/high heat.

4. Add steak in a single layer. Don't overcrowd the pan.

5. Cook about 2–3 minutes per side, depending on the size and how well-done you like it.

6. Remove steak to a plate.

🍤 Make the butter shrimp

1. Lower the heat to medium.

2. Add 2 tbsp butter to the same skillet.

3. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

4. Add shrimp, Cajun seasoning and a little black pepper.

5. Cook about 1–2 minutes per side, until the shrimp are pink and opaque.

6. Add Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice.

7. Return the steak to the pan and toss everything together for another minute.

8. Sprinkle with parsley.

🍽️ Serve

Spoon the seasoned rice onto plates and pile the buttery steak and shrimp over the top. Drizzle the extra garlic-butter sauce from the skillet over everything.

A little Southern-style trick: Add 1–2 tablespoons of chicken broth to the skillet at the end and scrape up all those browned bits from the steak. Let it simmer for a minute, then swirl in another tablespoon of butter. That makes an amazing sauce for the rice. 😋

You could also add sautéed onions and bell peppers to this if you want it more like a Southern steak-and-shrimp skillet.

Classic Spice Cake

A homemade spice cake is warm, moist, and packed with comforting flavors. Since you enjoy baking and experimenting in the kitchen, I've included a version that would also work beautifully with your Cape Breton SHORELINE All Purpose Seasoning if you'd like to give it a signature Mitch & Tonya twist.

Classic Spice Cake

Makes one 9 × 13-inch cake

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

2½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon cloves

Wet ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup white sugar

¾ cup vegetable oil

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Optional additions:

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup finely diced apples

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together:

Flour

Baking powder

Baking soda

Salt

Cinnamon

Ginger

Nutmeg

Allspice

Cloves

In a large bowl, beat together:

Brown sugar

White sugar

Butter

Oil

Add the eggs one at a time.

Stir in the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately, mixing just until combined.

Fold in any optional ingredients.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

¼ cup butter, softened

3 cups icing sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Beat everything together until smooth and creamy.

Mitch & Tonya's Cape Breton Version

Replace all of the individual spices with:

1½ tablespoons of Cape Breton SHORELINE All Purpose Seasoning

Add:

1 cup finely diced apples

½ cup chopped walnuts

The apples add moisture, and the SHORELINE seasoning would give the cake a unique, lightly spiced Cape Breton character.

Serve it warm with a cup of coffee, and your kitchen will smell absolutely amazing.

Could this be made in a bread loaf pan?

Yes — absolutely, and spice cake actually works very nicely as a loaf.

The important thing is that a 9×13 pan holds considerably more batter than a standard bread/loaf pan, so don't put the entire recipe into one loaf pan.

For a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan.

Dry Ingredients 

1¼ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp allspice

⅛ tsp cloves

Wet Ingredients

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar

⅜ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup butter

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla

½ cup buttermilk

Bake at 350°F for roughly 45–55 minutes, checking with a toothpick around 45 minutes.

Mi'kmaq bannock

Oh yes. If we're going frying-pan bannock, I'd make it a little different from the oven version: crisp and golden outside, soft and tender inside, and with enough fat in the pan to give it that old-fashioned fried-bread character.

One note: there isn't one single "Mi'kmaq bannock" recipe—families and communities have their own versions. So I'd call this Cape Breton–inspired pan bannock, drawing on the simple flour, baking powder, salt, fat and water/milk style of bannock rather than claiming it's an authentic traditional recipe.

🍳 Cape Breton–Inspired Frying-Pan Bannock

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

¼ cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup milk

¼–½ cup additional milk, as needed

2–3 Tbsp Crisco or butter for frying

Make the dough

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl.

Cut in the cold butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until you have coarse crumbs.

Add 1 cup of milk and stir gently.

Add additional milk a tablespoon or two at a time until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough.

Don't make it wet. You're looking for something you can turn onto the counter and pat together.

Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead about 6–8 times—just enough to bring everything together.

Pat it into a round about ¾-inch thick.

Cut it into 6–8 wedges.

🔥 Into the frying pan

This is where I'd use one of your cast-iron skillets.

Heat the skillet over medium-low to medium heat.

Add 2–3 Tbsp Crisco. Let it melt, but don't let it smoke.

Put the bannock pieces into the skillet.

Cook for about 5–7 minutes per side, adjusting the heat as necessary.

You want a deep golden-brown crust, but the inside needs time to cook.

If the outside is browning too quickly, turn the heat down. You can even put a lid on the skillet for the last couple of minutes to help the middle cook.

When done, transfer to a plate and rub the tops with butter while they're hot.

🧈 The test

Break one open while it's still hot.

You should get:

crispy/golden outside → soft tender middle → buttery flavour.

If the middle is doughy, put the pieces back into the skillet over low heat for another couple of minutes.

And here's where I'd have some fun with it...

Because you're making spices, you could turn this into a Mitch & Tonya's bannock experiment.

Make the basic bannock, then divide the dough into portions:

Plain & buttery

Maple Coal — a tiny amount mixed into the dough

Italian Harbour — savoury herb bannock

FORGE — a little heat

Shoreline — savoury all-purpose version

I wouldn't go crazy with the seasoning, though. Bannock should still taste like bannock. The seasoning should be the background rather than turning it into a spice biscuit.

And honestly, hot pan bannock with butter and a bowl of your COCK SOUP or BULL SOUP sounds like a pretty damn good Cape Breton supper. 😄