By Haeley Huggard
SAGINAW – Since we are still all home staying safe, most of us have had more time for activities such as cooking or picking up fresh produce for our dinnertime meals. Either way, food has been playing a major role in how we get through these trying times.
Some of us have even started running out of ideas for new recipes in the kitchen. So, how about we turn our attention to a recipe called Tortilla Soup?
The great thing about this recipe is that if you don’t make it with chicken, it will be a vegan/vegetarian-friendly option.
Prep time is roughly an hour.
Here is what you will need:
1-2 white or yellow onions, diced
1 bag of baby carrots, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced (for more color, try adding 3-4 mini yellow, orange and red colored bell peppers)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 medium sized tomatoes, diced
1 can of Southwest corn with poblanos (if you want to add an additional vegetable, poblano canned corn is a tasty extra)
1-2 jalapenos, minced (optional, if you don’t like spicy food)
1-2 cups of pinto beans (for a vegetarian/vegan version) OR
1-2 packages of raw chicken breast
Spices:
Dried onion flakes
Garlic salt
Oregano
McCormick taco seasoning
Pepper
Other ingredients:
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (if you don’t have any, you can use a small can of tomato paste)
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (for frying the chicken)
5-7 cups of vegetable broth (the amount of broth you use depends on how much soup you want and the size of your pan)
Garnish:
Tortilla strips
Finely diced avocado (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Directions:
Don’t forget to WASH YOUR HANDS before you start cooking and prepping your food! Preheat the soup pot over medium high heat. While the pot is heating, cut up all your vegetables. Once vegetables are ready, set them aside until the soup pot becomes hot.
Gently cover raw chicken with garlic salt, onion flakes and taco seasoning until chicken is completely covered in spices. While you’re prepping your chicken, grab a pan or cast-iron skillet (preferred) and place on a medium high heat. This will be used to fry your chicken separately.
Place chicken in the heated skillet and cook with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil until cooked all the way through. Take two forks and pull chicken apart to shred it.
Turn heat down to low and toss your onions, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, corn, garlic and jalapenos into the soup pot with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté until softened.
Add 5-7 cups of vegetable broth to the soup pot. Throw in spices from the list above or any of your personal favorite spices to add an extra dash of flavor to your soup.
Add your shredded chicken into your soup mixture and bring to a simmer. After soup has simmered for five minutes, add half a jar of pasta sauce, or a full jar if you are making a larger quantity, to your soup. Stir and bring to a boil.
Serve yourself a bowl of soup and add tortilla strips and other garnishments to the top of your soup bowl.* Enjoy your soup!
*Please note: Adding tortilla strips into the big pot of soup is not recommended because after the soup has sat for a while, it will make your tortilla strips mushy.