Tortilla soup on the fly
MOAR FOOD! Wow, this is actually becoming a regular thing, I'm pleased with how this is working out.
Before the holidays Chris and I made roast beef, the leftovers of which went right into the freezer. At around the same time a friend invited me over for a Craft Party, to which I brought way too much chips and salsa. Once again, that went right into the freezer. Right away I knew I was just one or two ingredients away from my favorite cold weather soups: Tortilla!!! It's spicy, it's hearty, it's (fairly) healthy, what's not to love?
I adapted this soup from another Cooking Light recipe (I am seriously, seriously in love with that magazine. My roommate has a subscription, and if I see it in the mail first I will full-on steal it away to my room. Just for a few days, though, I eventually return it!). Again, there are a few changes that I made:
Beef Salsa Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (I used bottled garlic)
3/4 pound roast beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (or, 14.5 oz water plus one packet of chicken broth concentrate)
14.5 oz salsa
1 cup crushed baked tortilla chips
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges (optional)
Directions:Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and chicken; sauté 2 minutes. Add chile powder and cumin; stir well. Add water, salt, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Top with tortilla chips and cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.
Another crappy cellphone picture I'm afriad, but doesn't it look good?! Look at the curls of steam rising from it! I can attest to the fact that it turned out to be delicious; the final test will be if it stands up to reheating tomorrow at lunch.
Not much else to report. My seasonal retail job is, alas, over: once New Years came and went, they couldn't promise me enough hours to even cover the cost of gas. There was no point in hanging around, so I'm back to hitting the pavement. Now that I've finally worked two jobs and seen that it's doable (if soul-killing) I have confidence I can pull this off again. Maybe. Hopefully.
Before the holidays Chris and I made roast beef, the leftovers of which went right into the freezer. At around the same time a friend invited me over for a Craft Party, to which I brought way too much chips and salsa. Once again, that went right into the freezer. Right away I knew I was just one or two ingredients away from my favorite cold weather soups: Tortilla!!! It's spicy, it's hearty, it's (fairly) healthy, what's not to love?
I adapted this soup from another Cooking Light recipe (I am seriously, seriously in love with that magazine. My roommate has a subscription, and if I see it in the mail first I will full-on steal it away to my room. Just for a few days, though, I eventually return it!). Again, there are a few changes that I made:
- I used salsa instead of the stewed tomatoes called for, obviously. Because the salsa is already chock full of onions, garlic, and spices you don't really need to add the seasonings called for in the recipe. Particularly if the salsa you used is already hot. Mine was mild, and I wanted to walk on the wild side a bit, so I put them in.
- A word about the salsa: I used Arriba! Fire Roasted Medium Chipotle Salsa. Really, any salsa of any heat intensity would work (so long as you adjust the recipe-called-for spices so that you don't blow your head off from the heat). For a chunkier soup, I bet pico de gallo would work quite well.
Beef Salsa Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (I used bottled garlic)
3/4 pound roast beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (or, 14.5 oz water plus one packet of chicken broth concentrate)
14.5 oz salsa
1 cup crushed baked tortilla chips
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges (optional)
Directions:Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and chicken; sauté 2 minutes. Add chile powder and cumin; stir well. Add water, salt, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Top with tortilla chips and cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.
Another crappy cellphone picture I'm afriad, but doesn't it look good?! Look at the curls of steam rising from it! I can attest to the fact that it turned out to be delicious; the final test will be if it stands up to reheating tomorrow at lunch.
Not much else to report. My seasonal retail job is, alas, over: once New Years came and went, they couldn't promise me enough hours to even cover the cost of gas. There was no point in hanging around, so I'm back to hitting the pavement. Now that I've finally worked two jobs and seen that it's doable (if soul-killing) I have confidence I can pull this off again. Maybe. Hopefully.