Chewie's Favorite Tortilla Soup

Chewie's Favorite Tortilla Soup AKA A Kid-Friendly Version of Thug Kitchen's Tortilla Soup

2 tbsp veggie, grapeseed, or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped into half moons
2 small jalepenos or 1 large jalepeno, enough for a little kick but not nose-dripping heat
2 small spoonfuls of minced garlic (or like 4 cloves)
2 1/2 tsp each of cumin, oregano, chili powder
1 can of diced tomatoes (I like fire roasted tomatoes in this, Chewie also approves)
1 small can of tomato paste
4 cups of veggie broth (1 whole box)
1 cup water
6-8 corn tortillas cut into 1 inch squares
Bunch of cilantro if you don't think it tastes like soap
Juice of 2 limes or 2 tbsp lime juice
Thug Kitchen calls for chickpeas for topping, but I've never done that :::shrug:::

Heat a stockpot over medium high heat. Toss in the onions, carrots, and jalepenos. Saute for 5 minutes or until soft.

Add in the garlic. Cook for another minute or two.

Add in the spices. Stir it all around until it smells amazing and all the spices have touched the heat.

Add in both types of tomatoes. Make sure the tomato paste is a bit melted and stirable.

Add the broth and the water. If you have 5 cups of broth, do that instead. The Thug Kitchen recipe calls for 5 cups of broth but there's only 4 cups in a box of broth. WTF...

Stir everything together until it's all combined. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Basically enough time to unload/load a dishwasher, rinse out the recycling cans, set the table, etc...

Add in the tortillas. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

At this point, if you like cilantro, add in a handful of cilantro so it can be blended into the soup. Or you can chop and top as a topping instead.

Using your immersion blender, blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can blend the soup in batches in a regular blender (but cover the hole in the lid with a towel to let steam escape).

Add in the lime juice.

Serve.

Baby Chewie likes to ea

Review: Bobby Flay's Salsa Verde Soup

I requested Bobby Flay's Fit cookbook from the library. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting because it's not like Bobby Flay is in the weightloss or fitness genre. I suppose I was expecting more...Bobby Flay???

I thought that the Salsa Verde Chicken soup recipe would be a great easy recipe to try, expecially during Spring Break when I have some extra time to cook. I mean, the children are still wild animal beasts but whatevs...

In any case the soup was straight up chicken, stock, plus salsa verde. There were no other veggies in the soup, no pasta, no rice, no legumes, no beans. Just straight up chicken.

I thought it was bland too. The two jalepenos in the Salsa Verde did not do the soup justice, it was VERY kid-friendly except for the whole no veggie part. I did have to dig the chicken out for Chewie because he couldn't scoop it out with his spoon which meant that he ate his soup on a plate and I needed to serve cut veggies with hummus for a side dish to make up for the lack of veggies in the soup.

I did make another recipe - Quinoa Con Pollo which was EXCELLENT. I have the book for another two weeks, so I'm definitely going to try a few more recipes from Bobby Flay Fit.

Bruschetta & Goat Cheese Sandwich

Bruschetta & Goat Cheese Sandwich

Just add leftover bruschetta to your sandwich instead of mayo or mustard.

Seriously. That's the recipe.

Sausage And Kale Soup

Sausage and Kale Soup

2 tbsp olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 package (approximately 1 pound) mild italian sausage (or spicy, whatever your taste buds like)

1 small-ish onion, chopped

3 larger carrots, diced for small throats (because carrots are choking hazards, weird parent thing)

6 small potatoes, chopped

1 tsp chopped garlic (about 1-2 cloves, depending on size)

4 cups veggie or chicken broth, whatever you have on hand

1 tsp ground basil

1/2 tsp ground marjoram

1 bunch lacinto kale, rinsed and chopped or torn into 1-2 inch pieces

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 1-3 ice cubes worth of pesto, parsley for garnish

To serve: crusty bread or pita chips

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. When hot, add in the oil, then the italian sausage breaking it into bite size pieces. 

After 3 minutes, add in the onion, carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Soften and let them brown up a bit until the sausage is cooked through, maybe 6-10 minutes. 

Add in the basil and marjoram, stir until it smells amazing, about a minute. 

Add in the broth. Bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. 

Add the kale and chickpeas. Simmer for another 5 minutes or until chickpeas are warmed through and kale is nicely wilted. 

If using pesto, add in 1-2 large tablespoons or 1-3 ice cubes of frozen pesto. I think this is the extra ingredient that makes this soup delicious! I used homemade pesto that I made using CSA ingredients last fall and froze in an ice cube tray. Use homemade OR store bought, whatever is easiest for you.

Add Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pita chips, crusty bread, etc... 

Weekly Meal Planning

Taco Tuesday - Fish tacos with homemade guacamole 

Wednesday - Beef Stew

Thursday - One Pot Pasta with Veggies

Friday - Pizza or chicken with rice & veggies

And a picture of me wearing a clown nose.