As a new addition to this site, I am happy to announce that FOOD will be discussed on here…at least once a week. I’ll even have a little help to add to a few of my favorite recipes and eats. After all, the man who cooks at least 10 of my meals every single week needs a little bit more exposure out there in the universe. He is my favorite Chef.
This week, I’m going to start off the favorite meals by contributing a recipe that I found from Martha Stewart.
Since I’m 80% liquids right now, 20% food (and yes, the side effect to this diet is that you lose weight…not the intention here, just a side effect)…I’ve been hitting up the soups like crazy. This recipe is Vegetarian Tortilla Soup. I make a huge batch of it every other week and just sink into it. It’s so good.
The trick is…Martha’s version is good…but my version makes everything taste better.
Here’s Martha’s recipe.
And here’s my take off from Martha’s version. [The Pink denotes my changes to Martha’s original recipe, whose recipe you can find in the link above.]
Ingredients
-
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 cup crushed Tostitos Hint of Lime tortilla chips
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
Directions
- In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Cook garlic and chili powder until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes (with juice), beans, broth, corn, and 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper.
- Bring soup to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Add tortilla chips; cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve soup with lime wedges and, if desired, more chips.
In addition, I like to add a tablespoon of guacamole to garnish. Here’s the recipe to my guac…
2 ripened avocadoes (peeled & mashed)
1/2 cup of diced onions
2 limes (or lemons)
1 tomato diced
2-4 red Thai Chilis diced (use based on varying degrees of spiciness to your liking)
2-3 pinches of sea salt
1. After mashing avocadoes with a fork, add onions, tomato and chilis. Squeeze juice from both limes into mixture. Add 2-3 pinches of sea salt and mix together.
Remember…the trick to a good recipe is to add in a little at a time until consistency is to your tastebud’s liking. In this recipe, you should add the limes (or lemons), salt and chilis a little at a time until it’s the consistency you like.
2. Add a dollop of guacamole to the tortilla soup with the Hint of Lime chips on top and it kicks the flavors in the soup up a notch…all complimentary flavors.
I hope you enjoy this soup. It has been a wonderful soup to have in my diet. All a part of how I dropped 2 sizes in the last month and a half!
