Thursday, February 21, 2013

Southwest Soup



It happens nearly every day, and I grin every time. Well, I grin as I'm scrambling to come up with a recipe like I had one all along ready to produce at a moment's notice.

Here's what happens: I post a photo of whatever I just concocted on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (because I can't help myself) and within minutes someone is asking me for "the recipe". Thing is, true to my backward form, I make up recipes from dishes I make, not the other way around.

Today's chuckle courtesy of Southwest Soup.

See, what had happened was...

Over the weekend I made Chicken Tortilla Soup.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
1. Cut a big gob (I don't know, maybe 3 pounds or so?) of your favorite chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken breast because I get it at a great price at Sam's Club and I had some on hand) into tiny chunks and boil in a giant soup pot about half full of water with a bunch of your favorite seasonings thrown in. I use cumin (a must for any southwest-style soup), sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed fresh garlic (3-4 cloves, if you have it), Adobo, and about 1/2 cup (that's a HALF, not one-to-two) of powdered chicken bouillon. Oh, and a stick or two of real butter. It'll enrich the soup, so hush.

2. Add a can of seasoned black beans.

3. Stir a lot while it cooks, maybe a couple of hours of simmering on low after it comes to a good boil.

4. Serve with the following on the side for adding to individual bowls:
-egg noodles or pasta (both undercooked a little so the soup doesn't mush them)
-rice (white or yellow)
-whole kernel corn
-shredded Mexican cheeses
-tortilla chips for crushing

A couple of days later when this soup was starting to dwindle and I was hearing complaints that there wasn't much chicken left in the bottom and I wasn't about to toss it and make a whole new dinner just yet, I got the bright idea to use it as a starter for new soup. My mama would be so proud of me. Anyway.

So I browned a big bunch (I don't know, maybe 4 pounds or so?) of ground beef with sea salt, black pepper, garlic & onion powder, Adobo, you know...the stuff I put in just about everything...and 1/4 cup or so of taco seasoning mix (I get that at Sam's Club, too, in a big box) until it was good and done and had smelled up the house like Mexican Heaven.

I spooned about 3 cups or so of the ground beef into the remaining chicken tortilla soup and stirred, put the remaining taco meat away for another meal, and stood back quite happy with myself.

I found a leftover baked potato in the fridge, so I peeled it and cubed it and tossed that into the pot, too.

I'm trying to remember now...was that all? I think so.

When Jeff came home he had some, and by his behavior it appears that my stretch-this-longer soup was quite a hit. Score. Fed 8 people with it and still had enough left over for my lunch today. FOR. THE. WIN.