Tortilla Soup

Last night I had a craving for tortilla soup - though I have never made it and not sure I have ever eaten it - it sounded good. As I often do I looked at several recipes for inspiration and then made my own variation. This is what I came up with and it was good! The kids loved it which is always a good sign - though they are not picky eaters.

Tortilla Soup

4 cups chicken broth (I used my homemade)
4 cups water
2 chicken breasts
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 bag of Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper

Toppings

green onion
mozarella cheese (leave out to make dairy free)
yellow peppers (that is all I had on hand)
tomatoes
tortilla strips (recipe to follow)

other suggestions that I did not have on hand
avacado
cilantro
green pepper


For the soup I boiled the chicken breasts in the broth and water for about 20 minutes. (You could use thighs as well but breast was all I had on hand.) I would add the chopped onion here as well but added mine near the end as an afterthought. Once the chicken breast is cooked take it out of the broth and shred it. Season the broth with cumin and chili and salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken and add frozen corn to the broth and simmer until corn is cooked.
Serve with the toppings and enjoy.

Tortilla strips
6-8 corn tortillas
oil (I used grapeseed oil)

Brush both sides of tortillas with oil and stack as you go. I used a pizza cutter and cut the tortillas in half then cut crosswise in 1/4 inch strips. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven until they are golden. Stir every few minutes while they are baking.

Sorry this recipe may be a little hard to follow as I am doing it from my head on what I did last night. Hope you can follow and enjoy! :-)

Soup!!

We have been under the weather for the last couple weeks so have been making and eating a lot of soup! I love to make my own chicken stock and use this recipe that is on my sister's blog. While we have been sick I made a lot of broth and we ate soup at least once a day for a few days when nothing else sounded good. I stuck to a basic chicken soup but there are many other yummy soups you can make with this homemade broth. I think it makes a huge difference in how your soup tastes!
My sister is looking for a good Minestrone soup today so I will post one here for her. I got this at one of the cooking classes I went to. I made yummy tortilla soup last night and will post it soon.

Minestrone Soup

3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 leeks, chopped or one onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2-3 carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 14.5 oz can diced Italian tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can kidney beans
1 14.5 oz can cannellini or lima beans
1/2 cup Italian green beans
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 zucchini, chopped in large pieces
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup pasta
salt and pepper

Saute leeks or onion in oil over medium hi temperature, add garlic, carrots and celery and saute for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add chicken stock and water, oregano, diced Italian tomatoes, all the beans, and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Turn heat on low and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the zucchini and cabbage and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add pasta and simmer for another 10-12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

My notes: I add the veggies based on what I may have and what we like in soup. For instance I usually leave out the Itialian green beans. Also, since I am going wheat free these days I would substitute the regular pasta for quinoa pasta or just leave it out. I have been using quinoa in my chicken and rice soup in place of rice as well. It makes for a good substitute.