LINDA'S SINFULLY SIMPLE TORTILLA SOUP
By Linda Vernon

~~"You can't go wrong with relatively simple comfort food. It's also about ease. Some cook to impress. I cook for people to enjoy the food."~~

~~Al Roker

There are some things I love. Soup is one of them; another is Mexican food. Both speak of my southern California childhood and the comfort foods created in my mother’s kitchen. So what could be more perfect for me than Chicken Tortilla Soup?

Of course, there are some things I don’t like. I don’t like cilantro. There, I said it. I know, I know, in some circles that’s just blasphemy. So, I’m a blaspheming foodie. Sue me. I find the flavor overpowering, and consequently often leave cilantro out of dishes that traditionally contain it. You won’t find it in here. If you like it, add it.

Being over 50, as our blog title proclaims, means I’m also an empty-nester. That means I have no earthly need for the vats of soup I once made. I also don’t care to spend half-a-day preparing soup for one (or maybe two, if I can convince my dear husband that there’s nothing in the pot that will poison him).

So here is my very quick chicken tortilla soup recipe. It refrigerates well, if you don’t eat it all the first night. Be careful with the salt. Because of the canned foods used herein, I find I don’t need any salt at all. 

This dish is prepared using items you probably have in your cabinet or freezer right now. And if you don’t, add them to that list on the back of the envelope in the side pocket in your purse. 

No, not that pocket. The one with the broken zipper.

Enjoy!

Linda’s Sinfully Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 chicken breast

1 15oz can chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 4 oz can diced green chilis (not jalapenos, but Anaheim. I use Ortega brand)
1 15.5 oz can whole kernel corn with the juice
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed WELL, otherwise your soup will be grey. Like dirty sweat-sock water.
1 cup commercial salsa, medium to hot
½ fresh jalapeno, minced
½ to 1 tsp chili powder
Granulated garlic
Onion powder

Garnish with:

Tortilla Chips/strips
Avocado
Sour cream
Shredded jalapeno jack cheese

Trim fat from chicken breast. Dust chicken with granulated garlic and onion powder. Mince jalapeno. Put chicken, jalapeno, and chicken broth in large, microwave-safe bowl with lid. Cook until chicken is done (about 5 minutes, depending on your microwave), remove from microwave and shred meat with two forks. Dump all contents into medium stockpot.

Add soup, chilis, corn, and black beans. Mix well. Add salsa and chili powder. Simmer for twenty minutes. Adjust seasoning. Serve with garnishes. Even cilantro.

Just don’t expect me to eat any of it.

'TIS THE SEASON FOR COMFORT FOOD

By Barbara Winters

The tree is down*, the weather is dreary and we're craving a flavor besides ham or turkey.  If the thought of one more cookie or piece of fudge makes you want to throw  up, it's time to move into ... The Comfort Food Zone.

Comfort food is something Mom or Grandma usually made.  It was delicious.  It slid down easily.  If it had any nutritional value that was downplayed to let you enjoy its flavorful goodness.  It mostly made you feel warm inside and loved.

Robb Walsh, food writer and cook book author, once defined patriotism as the memory of foods eaten in childhood.  I cannot disagree with that, and besides I like dropping names. (Pick that up.)  If your family celebrates its heritage then there are most likely delicious things Nana made which made you proud to be a member of the family.

After the holidays it's nice to be able to use up some leftovers, so my comfort food is wild rice soup.  It's creamy and smooth and has good basic ingredients in it.

The first time I made wild rice I had never even heard of it before. Turns out it is technically not rice but some paddy-raised grass grown by Native Americans in Minnesota.  Good for them.  I hate to think of them stuck with making pemmican all winter.

I was given a huge box of wild rice and didn't really read the instructions until the kitchen was completely occupied by Thanksgiving dinner.  It seems that I had to empty the whole box into a soup kettle to accommodate all the water needed, then bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for an hour.  Then, I was to strain it through a sieve into another soup kettle, then put the rice back in the liquid, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for an hour.  Lather, rinse, repeat. 

The final time I drained it, the husk had opened and the grains were a little fluffy.  It had a nutty flavor. Some people add butter. I learned that if you cooked it in stock it tasted even better.  My effort made up for the fact that my stuffing came out of a box.  Shut up, it was years before anyone noticed.

The good news is that the Reese company now produces wild rice in little managable 4 oz. boxes.  If you left over, make some and add it to the soup.  I think you'll find it a delicious dinner for the cold new year.

   

(*or it should be, you slackers.)

WILD RICE SOUP

1/3 cup wild rice (or 1 cup left over wild rice,

and skip the cup of liquid)

1 cup water or chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup onion, chopped

1 cup celery, finely chopped

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 cup flour

4 cups milk

1 cup cream

To Prepare Rice:

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and add rice and salt. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes or until tender.

To Prepare Soup:

Melt butter, add onions, celery, and mushrooms, cover and gently cook for 5 minutes until tender. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant.

Stir in 2 teaspoons salt, pepper and flour. Remove from heat and add milk, stirring until flour is well blended.

Return to low heat, cook stirring constantly until soup has thickened. Add cooked rice and simmer a few minutes to blend flavors.

Serve hot, garnish with chopped chives or grated cheese, optional.