Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

I have a thing for soups. They're filling, and delicious, and (sometimes) low calorie.

 

I was craving chicken tortilla soup, but we didn't have any chicken at home and I wasn't about to go to the store for some. So I came up with this veggie-filled tortilla soup recipe. Of course, you can always add shredded chicken, pumping up the protein and adding even more flavor.



I also used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth (sorry vegetarians!) because I am not a fan of vegetable broth. It tastes too much like celery, which I hate. This recipe, however, calls for vegetable broth so that it stays true to the recipe name. I also crisped up some tortilla strips in the oven and added them to the soup, not just for garnish, but also to give the soup some depth and more substance. Topped with cheesy, gooey goodness, and some avocado slices...ugh...there are few things better than a good bowl of soup. I think only a person with a savory-tooth would say that. Brett said it's the best soup I've ever made. I guess you can be the judge!



Ingredients: Serves 4

1 box organic vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 tablespoon cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped white mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup canned corn
1 15oz can black beans
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
juice of two limes
1/4 cup gf red enchilada sauce
6 gf corn tortillas
cooking spray
salt and pepper taste

GARNISHES:
shredded cheese
chopped cilantro
avocado

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut tortillas into 1/2 inch strips, as long as you like, and spray them with cooking spray. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake them about 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and sprinkle with salt; set aside.

In a pot add oil, chopped zucchini, onion, mushrooms and sauté on medium low heat for about four minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle veggies with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add cherry tomatoes and continue to sauté until tomatoes start to wilt and let out their juices. Add minced garlic and cook about 30 more seconds. Carefully pour broth into pot and add cayenne, cumin, lime juice, black beans, enchilada sauce and corn. Allow to simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Ladle into bowls with tortilla strips and top with cheese, cilantro, and avocado.

Black Bean Tostadas (GF)

When I was growing we would always have 'Tostada Night' at home, where we'd build our own tostadas with a buffet of ingredients.

Usually ground beef, refried pinto beans, cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream on a fried corn tortilla. Sounds good right? It was.



I decided to make my own version, with homemade refried black beans and no meat (I try to go meatless at least twice a week). You can definitely use canned black beans instead of making them from scratch. I'll admit, it's pretty time consuming-letting the beans soak for eight hours and then simmering them for two. But I really enjoy knowing exactly what's going into them.




I used gluten free corn tortillas and baked them in the oven instead of frying them. I also topped them with organic baby romaine leaves, for added nutrition.

My husband has his own secret taco sauce that he loves to make, so we topped it off with that, and served them with Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips.

 Turns out, this is a new recipe that will be repeated in the Holderby home quite often.




Ingredients: Makes 4 tostadas

1 1/2- 2 cups refried black beans (recipe below)
cooking spray
4 gluten free corn tortillas
chopped onions
chopped tomatoes
taco sauce (recipe below)
shredded monterey jack cheese
fresh limes for garnish

(FOR SECRET TACO SAUCE)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
juice of one lime
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce (or less if you can't take heat)
dash of cayenne
dash of salt

(FOR REFRIED BLACK BEANS)
1 cup of dried black beans (soaked for 8 hours and drained)
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
chopped cilantro
dash of cayenne
cilantro
juice of 1 lime

Add olive oil and garlic to a pot and sauté for one minute or until garlic is fragrant. Carefully add black beans and chicken broth to a pot and bring to a simmer. Add water, salt, cumin and cayenne, stir and put a lid on pot. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally for one hour. After an hour, remove lid and allow to simmer until beans are cooked through. It took mine about 45 more minutes.

Once beans have cooked mash them with a potato masher, adding more water if necessary, until beans have a refried bean consistency. Add chopped cilantro and mix. Salt to taste and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray tortillas with cooking spray on both sides and place on baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 15 minutes.

Spread refried black beans on each crisp tortilla. Next sprinkle cheese, then lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and secret taco sauce. Serve with fresh cut limes.

Habanero Salsa!

Okay, some of you might not know this, but I'm half Mexican. I don't look the slightest bit Mexican, but I assure you, I am. Although there are a lot of Mexican dishes that I do not like, I am an avid salsa eater; the spicier the better. My boyfriend decided he wanted me to make him a habanero salsa, so naturally I called my mom and asked her for some advice on how to make a delicious salsa. I only had so many ingredients (I was too lazy to go to the store) but here's what I came up with:

Ingredients:

4 Tomatillos

2 Large Tomatoes

2 Jalapenos

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 Cup chopped onions

1 teaspoon of sugar

2 teaspoons of fresh lime juice

2 habanero peppers, one with seeds, one without

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro (use more if you like, I'm not crazy about it)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the tomatillos, tomatoes, and jalapenos. Boil for 15 minutes, drain water, and let cool. Once cooled, de-skin tomatillos and tomatoes, then add all 3 ingredients into a food processor (or blender). Blend until smooth, then add garlic, cilantro, onions, lime juice, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. If that's not spicy enough for you, move on to the next step: HABANEROS.

Cut the habaneros in half, and remove the seeds from one of the habaneros, and chop. (If you want it REALLY hot, leave in the seeds. The more seeds you have, the spicier it will be). Add the chopped habaneros to food processor and blend until smooth. Let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour for the flavors to fuse together. I assure you it will be even better the next day.

TIPS:

Use gloves (or in my case, plastic baggies) when cutting the habaneros because it will BURN your fingers. And remember to stay away from your eyes, of course :)

Also, this salsa has more of a "green salsa" flavor, so if you would like you can add a can of diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, but personally I think it's authentic as is. You can also try roasting your tomatillos, tomatoes and jalapenos for a different flavor.