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.

Potato Soup

Tonight was a cold, dark, rainy night - a soup night. I had a bag of potatoes left over from a dinner I made for someone last week so decided potato soup was in order. I looked at some recipes on line for inspiration and then made a very yummy potato soup that hit the spot.

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk
5 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
Canadian bacon
1 teaspoon celery seed

This is what I did:
Heated olive oil in dutch oven. I added the chopped onion and crushed garlic and cooked them until the onion was translucent. Add the broth, milk and potatoes and celery seed and cook on medium to low heat. While this was cooking I cut up the Canadian bacon and added it to the soup. When the potatoes were done I mashed them a little right in the pan with my potato masher. I left some in chunks - just kind of mashed a few times to get a little thickness. It was very yummy!
One of my favorite tricks to cool things down for the kids is to add cottage cheese to things. I added a spoonful of cottage cheese to the kids bowls and it was perfect -
Another thing I do to cool things down is add frozen peas.

Santa Fe Soup

I have come across a Pampered Chef Consultant that does "Investment Classes" instead of the traditional Pampered Chef shows. She teaches a series of 5 classes on different subjects. They are basically giving you tips and hints how to cook from scratch more economically and efficiently. In November I hosted a Baking Show where she showed us how to bake ahead and have plenty of things in the freezer for the Holidays and the rest of the year as well. Recently my sister hosted a show on Soups and Stews. It was very helpful and we got some great recipes. One of the recipes that she gave us and my sister made it for the show was this Santa Fe Soup. It was very yummy! This makes a lot of soup and the idea of her recipes is that they are all freezable and you can make a large batch and then freeze some for more meals. As I try some of the others I will post them.

Santa Fe Soup

1 lb. ground chuck, cooked and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans Pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans Kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes, chopped
2 packets taco seasoning
1 packet dry ranch dressing (optional)
1 can green chiles

Cook ground beef. Drain, add onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. (If you do not want chunks of tomatoes you can puree them in a blender) Simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla or frito chips on the side.

If you do not like beans in the recipe you can substitute with ones of your choice.

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

In honor of our first frost this morning I am posting my very favorite soup recipe. This is such an easy, great soup to make. I use the roasted chicken from Costco as it is one of the best I have found and also one of the least expensive. I debone it as soon as I get home as it is easier to do when it is warm. If I am not going to use it right away I package up the meat for different uses and either put it in the freezer or fridge depending on when I am going to use it. Anyway, back to the soup - the pre cooked chicken makes it so simple! It is a wonderful meal on a cold fall or winter evening!


1 cup each onions, carrots, celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
6 cups chicken broth
4 cups potato, diced, peeled, uncooked
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups roasted chicken breast meat, diced
2 cups uncooked wide noodles
1 cup fat free evaporated milk


In a Dutch oven, saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic, in oil for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour, oregano, thyme, and poultry seasoning until blended; saute 1 minute longer. Gradually add broth, potatoes and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in chicken and noodles; simmer for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender. Reduce heat; stir in milk; heat through (do not boil)