Mexican Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup
A few years ago I decided to give Mexican Tortilla Soup a try, but didn't find any recipes that fit the bill and tried my hand at my own invention...and it was YUMMY. Even better, it was CHEAP and EASY.I made a pot full, and soup doesn't exactly beg exactness, so here are the general measurements and ingredients:

3 cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 container freshly made salsa (I like spicy)
1/2 container green salsa (I use Herdez)
15 oz pinto beans
15 oz black beans
15oz White Beans
15 oz canned diced tomatoes with green chilies
2-3 cups frozen corn (I used half golden and half sweet)
1/3-1/2 large yellow onion
2 tbsp minced garlic (fresh is best)
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 small avocados
handful of fresh cilantro, minced
dollop of sour cream (per serving)
handful of shredded cheese, preferably cheddar or jack-even better, a mix! (per serving)
Crispy tortilla strips (I used Wasabi Ranch flavored)

Directions:
Over medium heat, heat olive oil and place sliced onion and garlic until onion is soft ,season with salt and pepper to taste. Careful not to burn garlic. Add the chicken broth, bring to simmer. Add both salsas and bring to simmer again. Add in beans, canned tomato and corn, stirring occasionally, and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add sliced avocado and cilantro, cook additional 1-2 minutes and remove from heat. Top with dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro sprigs and crispy tortilla strips and serve. For an extra treat, serve with freshly made corn bread to sop up the remaining broth. Yum!*Chicken chunks are optional for a non vegetarian version. Cook in advance and add in with beans.

Menu plan: Thurs-wed

I'm going to try to do my menus Thursday to Wednesday because new ads come out Wednesday and that way I can make the most of supermarket savings and freshness.

Thursday: Mongolian BBQ (treated the missionaries to dinner)

Friday: My awesome Lamb, Yam, Yummy salad trifecta

Saturday: It is wet and cold, so I'm stewing up some super duper easy Mexican tortilla soup (recipe to follow)

Sunday: Grilled Halibut fillets with this warm Brussels Sprout salad and rice

Monday: Hmmm, it's FHE, so something good. How about a family favorite? Brinner. And, to make it even more favored, we'll make that Eggs Benedict, thanks. I think I'll make mine with bacon and fresh tomato and avocado, but do the traditional for Jacob if he wants it. Served with Asparagus, of course.

I'm not entirely sure what I want to do yet for the remaining two days. Probably something with beef or pork, and maybe something Asian. Stay tuned.

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

O-M-GOOOOOODNESS

I'm nothing if not consistent: I didn't cook a lick all summer and into fall, but today is cold and windy with slight showers and I absolutely had the URGE to cook up a nice hearty feast, with a nod to the season of eating ahead. I even had the urge to cook meat-which I almost never do. (To date, that remains firmly planted in the hubby's territory.)

I made, if I do say so myself the most fantastic meal tonight (and I do...but the hubby confirmed it, and he wouldn't necessarily say he didn't like something, but he would eat only enough to be polite--and he cleaned his plate and asked for seconds).

Best part? It took 30 MIN (yes, that's right) from the start (as in washing veggies) to finish (as in my fork delved into this delish meal). And that included cleaning as I went for the most part.

I dived right into my latest Cooking Light magazine and made these Pork Chops (only I substituted cuts of small pork loin, cooked 4 min per side, quadrupled the portion of seasoning and oil rub per loin, adding a dash of red chili flakes into the mix and substituting a mix of dry Italian seasoning for fresh rosemary (bc I had it on hand)). I'm very pleased with myself because this was my first time EVER cooking lamb and it was PERFECT: soft-melt-in-your-mouth texture, juicy, not undercooked but no where near overdone, and super yummy flavor.

I also made the mashed "maple hazelnut sweet potatoes" featured in the magazine with the pork chops, only I used yams, slightly increased the amount of maple syrup, and added a quarter cup of shredded parma-reggiano, and eliminated the hazelnuts (opting to throw them in the salad instead)--SO creamy and delectable! Jacob, who claims not to like yams, practically licked the bowl clean after finishing his portion.

Maple Yams
Pierce 2 sweet potatoes with a fork, wrap with a wet paper towel and microwave until done. Let stand 5 minutes then peel skin, mash to desired consistency, add 1/4 cup milk, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup, 1/4 cup shredded parma-reggiano, 1 teaspoon sea salt. Combine and serve.

Then I whisked together an adapted version of the salad dressing recommended in the magazine, but put my own salad mix together:

Honey Dijon Vinaigrette (so good, so easy, so cheap)
1 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon cracked lack pepper
1/4 tablespoon salt
1 minced garlic clove
2 tablespoons olive oil (gradually whisked in)

Mixed Mediterranean Style Salad
I bought a tin of organic mixed baby greens and added 1/2 thinly sliced Fuji apple, 1/2 cup red Holiday grapes-halved , a little under 1/4 cup crushed whole dry roasted hazelnuts, 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese, and about 8 large spiced blood orange marinated green olives (available now at Whole Foods) and poured in the marinade into the salad before drenching with the salad dressing and mixing. Oh MY GOSH. SO. DANG. GOOD.

Try it. You'll be glad you did. It wasn't super cheap, but it wasn't super expensive. Admittedly I had the seasonings and grapes on hand, but the portion of food used for the meal was about $18 total. Though it cost more than that at the store for the lettuce and cheese particularly, I have enough of those left for at least 3 more salads.

Recommended preparation:
While the yams cook, prepare the seasoning and rub down the lamb, prepare the vinaigrette.

While the yams cool, cook the lamb, toss the salad, and finally, prepare the mashed the yams.

Finis!

Raise Healthy Eaters

I found this website today and thought it looked pretty interesting. It's by a mom who is also a registered dietitian. There are some great looking recipes as well as nutrition information.

Next Week's Meal Plan

I've been a total slacker with the meal planning the past few weeks. Of course everyone being sick didn't help. So here is my attempt at a plan for next week.

My goal this week is to eat more veggies. And to get Nathan and Christopher to at least try some!

Monday: Sandwiches. Tuna or veggie.
Tuesday: Homemade mac and cheese and broccoli
Wednesday: Chicken. Probably asian sesame with rice and veggies
Thursday: Brinner. Maybe I'll try the best waffles ever recipe!
Friday: $5 Vons meal
Saturday: Salmon burgers. Made from canned salmon, egg, minced onion and bread crumbs. It's pretty yummy and the kids will actually eat it.

A few recipes I can't wait to try!

These polenta cakes with greens

This Butternut Squash Lasagna

These Pumpkin Truffles

This Pappa al Pomodoro (you know I love me some Tuscan cuisine)


The weather here is in the 90s...consequently, I have halted all cooking activities :) I just can't quite get there when it feels hot and sticky. But man oh man, fall is on it's way and I'll be busting these babies out on the first sign of a rainy day!

The Week's Meals, Reluctantly

Am I alone in sometimes longing for the pre-marriage and childless days of yore, being able to get away with cereal and ice cream for dinner nearly every night just because I could and it was easy?

Jacob still will go through phases where that's all he feels like eating--and I can't blame the man. After working with food all day, I'm not sure I could stomach (literally) the smell of another item by the time I got home. It does put a hamper on my meal planning, though. It is NO FUN to go through all the pain of meal preparation, cooking, and clean up just to be the only one to really eat it. Yasmeen always eats what I have, but considering that her stomach is the size of her fist, and some days she is far more ornery about what she'll put in her mouth than others, she doesn't really quite count.

And, yet, she does...because if she didn't need to eat that nutritious fist size of food I would be joining Jacob in the cereal glutton.

We've been eating out ALL summer-and we live in a small little town with very few food options, so it's not like we've even been enthusiastically eating out. We've just been far too lazy. But, it is really eating a hole in our pockets, doing absolutely nothing whatsoever that is kind to my waistline, cementing some pretty awful eating habits in the little one, and we've been subjected to some pretty questionable quality control, if you know what I mean....sooooooo, the binge is over. And I'm back at this. Ugh.

It's difficult to think of easy meals that aren't terribly time consuming or expensive and are kid AND hubby friendly.

Monday: Slowcooker pulled pork with Kaiser buns and KFC coleslaw and fruit or veggie side

Tuesday: Fish tacos (thank you Jenny)

Wednesday:These Waffles of Insane Greatness (found at Annie's Eats). I have everything on hand except for the cornstarch, which I really should have in my cupboard anyway. I'll serve with fruit (likely strawberries and blackberries) and maybe Jacob will grace us with his perfect scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and a side of grits. Yumm.

Thursday: This Greek Panzanella salad with a cut of beef, probably tri tip or filet mignon

Friday: Maybe shrimp ceviche, but if I'm feeling too lazy I'm not above a run to Costco for $1.50 pizza and frozen yogurt. Just sayin'....

Saturday/Sunday: I dislike planning for weekends as we often are out and about or at the in-laws. So we'll eat what and where the wind takes us.

The Goal: Spend $10 or Less

In an attempt to save as much money on meals as possible this coming week, I've made my shopping list and menu plan early. Weekly ads come out on Wednesdays, which makes it easy to get things done on the weekend. This week my goal is to spend <$10 to complete weeknight dinners and <$5 to complete lunches. (Lunch is only eaten by Alex, Nathan and myself since Josh and Chris eat at school.)

Here we go:

Monday
Lunch: Chicken quesadillas. Chicken is $6/bag (about 24 pieces per bag and I'll probably use about 5 for this meal) and I already have diced fire-roasted chiles, cheese and tortillas. This meal is <$5.
Dinner: Spaghetti, salad and french bread. I already have spaghetti noodles, salad is about $2 (bagged) and I have a coupon for free french bread. This meal is <$5

Tuesday:
Lunch: Tuna sandwiches. I'll have to buy some tuna, which is on sale for $1/can this week and we'll probably use at least 3 cans. Also celery ($1) and mayonnaise ($3). This meal is about $7.
Dinner: Fish tacos. Tilapia is on sale ($4/lb), salsa ($1), avocado (2/$1), coleslaw (bagged, $2). This meal will be about $10.

Wednesday:
Lunch: Roast beef sandwiches. Roast beef from Trader Joe's is $5/package for about 10 slices. This meal is <$5.
Dinner: Chicken tenders and twice baked potatoes. potatoes are $.88/5 lb bag this week and green onions $1. This meal is <$10.

Thursday:
Lunch: Roast beef or pb&j sandwiches.
Dinner: Chili and cornbread. I already have all the ingredients for this meal in the pantry.

Friday:
Lunch: Leftover chili and cornbread.
Dinner: My day off! $5 Friday at Von's. I might buy a second meal to use for Saturday.

Saturday:
Lunch: The extra $5 meal I got from Von's. Josh has a soccer game that morning.
Dinner: I'll let Alex decide!

Sunday:
Lunch: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, some kind of veggie. Ground beef is about $3/lb. The veggie won't cost more than $2. This meal will be about $5.
Dinner: Leftovers/fend for yourselves.

Other foods:
strawberries ($3)
bananas ($3)
bottled water ($3)

Another Week You Gotta Eat

I am so tired of planning and making dinner now that school and soccer have started. I'm also bored with the regular meals we've been having. I wish I could just order out every single day.

So I'm making a dinner plan because I should and not because I'm excited about it:

Monday: Omelettes. The boys have decided that cheese omelettes are delicious and they must eat them as often as possible. Luckily they are super easy to make.
Tuesday: Some kind of soup. Chicken tortilla, broccoli cheddar or something else.
Wednesday: Some kind of salad. Taco, maybe?
Thursday: Barbecue chicken. Oven baked.
Friday: I'm taking the day off and it's $5 Friday's from Von's. Roasted chicken, salad and rolls.

Though dinner might be boring, I'm excited to try this delicious and easy recipe for mini cheesecakes from Bakerella. There's actually a lot of things I'd like to try on this website. But only the really easy stuff.

Back At It? I think...

So it is very definitely the middle of the week-and I very definitely have not cooked one meal yet. But no time like the present to start, right?

My motto for the time being is keep it simple sister! So tonight, we will have sloppy joes and a salad, mainly because they are easy, cheap, good, and the little one likes them so she'll actually eat some red meat. Tomorrow, we will do taco salads.

Friday we are in the city with Gramme, so we'll probably do clam chowder. Saturday will probably be family date night out and Sunday we'll likely go to the in-laws.