Tortilla Soup

Several weeks ago I wanted a hearty crowd pleasing soup to serve for a casual dinner. I remembered this tortilla soup but always thought of it as a summer soup, I think because I do love using fresh seasonal ingredients.  With a few changes to the original recipe I came up with a very satisfying dish, I liked it so much I made it twice !! It's a delicious taco in a bowl.

Tortilla Soup ( for any season)

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

1-2 bell peppers, chopped

1 bag frozen fire roasted corn*, rinsed and drained ( Trader Joe's has it.)

1 cup finely chopped red or green cabbage

2 cups cooked beans ( black beans, kidney or pinto beans)

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 pint canned tomatoes ( stewed, fire roasted, whatever you like.)

1 quart veggie or chicken or beef broth




1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp. ancho chili or other powdered chili
1/4 red chili flakes, more if you like it hotter
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika ( optional)
2 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp. of dried oregano ( sprig of fresh oregano if you have it)
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings
strips of corn tortilla
sour cream
grated cheddar or jack cheese
chunks of avocado
fresh minced cilantro
sliced black olives
salsa
hot sauce
lime wedges

* (If you start with regular frozen corn, it's best to brown it first.)

1) Saute the onion in the olive oil until it starts to brown slightly.

2) Add the garlic, cabbage, corn and bell pepper, cook until soft.

3) Add in the spices and saute another minute or so, to release the full flavor of the spices.

4) Add the tomatoes, beans and broth, simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

5) Serve with corn tortilla strips ( I found that heating them up first is great) and any or all of the topping listed above.

As with a lot of my soup there is room to modify and adjust to your tastes and what's in your pantry.

Enjoy !!

Back with Beans and Beanalicious

It has been almost a month since my last post. I do have a valid excuse. We spent most of the first three weeks of September exploring the Warner Mountains in NE California. We had not internet and no cell reception that whole time. I will post about that next, it will take more time. 

Since one my readers is sick of looking at my last post about kale pesto I wanted to get something out quickly ;-)

Upon our return from camping I took off for a weekend yoga retreat at Mount Madonna. This is pertinent because I got a ride home from this retreat with Elizabeth Borelli. She has just come out with an interesting sounding cookbook, aimed specifically at busy mothers. See the information below. I plan to read it soon !!

 The name of her book Beanalicious, made me want beans. So this week I put together a stew that is a cross between Tortilla soup and Gina's beans. It came out great. I made it with the pinquito beans, which are similar to pinto beans. I used the spices from the tortilla soup. I tossed in a large chopped zucchini, when I sauteed the onion and red peppers and several cups of my roasted tomato sauce when I set it to simmer.

Here is it undressed. Bob ate it this way for lunch today, in fact I don't think he even heated it !!

 The bowl below looks like a taco which is my favorite part of tortilla soup, you can top it just like your favorite taco. I used avocado, warmed corn tortilla pieces and a little cheddar cheese. I could have added salsa, fresh cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce, sliced black olive etc... you get the idea.

As the cooler weather sets in, it's good time to get back to making beans !!