Taco Tuesday: Tortilla soup

This is one of my favorite soup recipies, Joey and I love it so much that we served it at our rehersal dinner.  It is hearty and has the perfect amount of kick to warm your soul on a cold day. This recipie is addapted from Joey's good friend's mom, the original recipe was very good but I'm not a recipe follower so after making hers once or twice I addapted to the things I commonly had in my house and just threw some other things things in, the result- deliciousness.  

You will need:
1 large onion
1 Jalapeno
2 cloves minced garlic
2  drained cans of Black Beans
1 frozen bag of corn
4 cups of chicken
1 packet of Taco seasoning
1 large can of V8
Stock in a Box (chicken or veg)
4 cans of Rotel
1 T of dried cilantro
1 T ground Cumin
1 T chili powder

Step 1- Chop onion, garlic and jalapeno, saute in a large stock pot on med high heat. (5 Min)
Step 2- Add corn and saute a few more minutes, then add the remaining ingredients
Step 3- Let simmer for 15 minutes or more
Step 4- Serve with chips, cheese,  and sour cream, some times I also add green onions and black olives.

this soup is hearty enough to omit the chicken and have a vegetarian meal.

Taco Tuesday- Black Bean Salsa

So I feel bad that I didn't post this last week as planned, but Tuesday was out of control.  My class does thanksgiving and between Monday and Tuesday I had already spent 16hrs in the kitchen cooking/cleaning and the last thing on my mind was posting this recipe.  

Minnie this one is for you and Drew, 
BLACK BEAN SALSA!

Ingredients:

1 Can Black Beans

2 Cups Frozen Corn

1 med size Red Onion

1 Green Pepper

4 Jalapenos

1 med size Tomato

Fresh Cilantro

Juice of one Lime

1 T Cumin

Salt and Pepper

Use a large bowl, this makes a lot, place drained beans and corn in the bowl, add vegetables as you chop them. Remember I like it spicy so use fewer Jalapenos if you're not a fan of the heat and make sure you de-seed the jalapenos. If you love spicy you can also chop the Jalapenos with the seeds in (Yummy!)  Stir together with some cilantro the juice of the lime and salt and pepper.  The secret ingredient is hidden in the next photo, you as little or as much as you like!

This can be eaten as a salad, with chips, or on a tortilla.

Taco Tuesday: Guacamole

This is one of my favorite Taco Tuesday staples.  Avocados are so good for you, full of omega 3’s and other good fats.  Defiantly something you can feel good about eating, and even more so when you make it yourself.  You can find some good pre-made guacamole in your local market, but I have never found one I like as much as this recipe.  It is so easy anyone can make it!  Now some times Avocados are a bit pricy, I only make guacamole when I can find them for around a dollar or less.

You will need the following:
2 Avocados

½  a small red onion finely chopped

1 small tomato finely chopped and de-seeded

2 Jalapenos de-seeded and finely chopped (you can do less or more depending on your heat preference)

1 garlic clove pressed

1 Tbsp of Cumin

½ a lime

Basically you mix all these together then take a fork and mash, be sure to add salt and pepper to taste or it will be rather bland.

Here are three tips that I find helpful:

1. To cut the Avocado, once you have the two halves take you knife and whack the seed then pull the knife back, the seed should come right out.  Use a spoon to scrape the avocado off of the skin.

2. Chop the onion last, so you don’t have to smell it (cry) while you cut the other ingredients.  

3. When following the recipe adjust for your “spice” level.  I love spicy so I put the jalapenos in seeds in all, but normally you would de-seed before chopping, the seeds are where much of the heat comes from.  You may want to try it the first time with just one.

I served it with leftover chicken and black beans that where re-heated together and then seasoned with gluten free Old El Paso original taco seasoning mix.

YUMMY

Taco Tuesday

Mexican food, traditions, and alliteration!  

Who would have ever thought one day could bring so much.  About 5 years ago Joey and began celebrating Taco Tuesday, the best part is we get to participate every week.  It has been exciting to find how many others celebrate too, even The Simpson’s!  This point was only driven home when my friend Carrie and I traveled to LA for spring break and discussed our love of Taco Tuesday before we even arrived and decided that the most important part of the trip was celebrating this day.   We both were so excited about Taco Tuesday that we had breakfast at a Taco Truck and when we made new friends from Switzerland we insisted that they join us for dinner so that they could experience Taco Tuesday.  Yeah I am that serious.  

the usual Taco Tuesday culprits! 

Now Joey and I don’t always take it literally, sometimes we do a quesadilla or tortilla soup, but usually we have turkey burger, black bean salsa, and guacamole.  So my hope is to do a few posts about my favorite Taco Tuesday recipes and post it early enough that you can make it at home!

I love tortilla's that are warmed like this, about 5 sec on each side

So this week is just a teaser… in the next few weeks I will post guacamole, black bean salsa, and chicken tortilla soup.  Perhaps I might post some other foods as well, but I wrote these three recipes, all the other things I make are written by others. 

Yummy!

Next Week: Guacamole 

Yummy Chicken Salad

A twist on the traditional chicken salad, this recipe I made up does not use mayonnaise.  Using a some non-traditional spices, this chicken salad is perfect for a warm summer day!

I cooked for the first time in years using measuring utensils when I made this yesterday for two reasons:
1. Have an exact amount for the ingredients for people who don’t use the measurement… “oh about a palm full".
2. Offer some nutritional values,the following recipe makes 6 one cup servings at 294 calories, 2.3g fiber, 29.5g protein, and 20.5g carbs.

Curry Chicken salad:

4 cups- diced chicken

1 cup- dried cranberries

1 cup- walnuts

1 TBSP- sesame seeds

1 TBSP- poppy seeds

½ cup- plain low-fat yogurt

4 TBSP- low fat sour cream

1 TBSP-curry powder

1TBSP- steak seasoning(includes salt, pepper, and a variety of other spices)

Fresh Chives (optional- as much or as little as you like

Place walnuts in a pan and toast them on medium heat, after about 2 minutes add the sesame and poppy seeds.  Toasting brings out the flavor and smokiness of the nuts.  When the nuts become fragrant (about 5 minutes) remove from heat.

In a small bowl mix yogurt, sour cream, curry, and steak seasoning.

Place chicken, cranberries, nuts, chives in a large bowl. Stir in yogurt mixture and add chives if you choose.  Place in the refrigerator for 20-30 to chill and allow the flavors to come together.

Serve on whole wheat toast or on a bed of salad greens 

Money saving tip: Purchase a large Turkey when on sale and roast up however you like (Cook 20 minutes per pound at 350).  Have the turkey for dinner then dice/chop the remaining meat and place 4 cups in freezer bags for use in soups, casseroles, and other things later on.  This will save you time and money in the future.