Healthy Southwest Black Bean Soup

I have noticed recently that I hadn't looked through my actual cookbooks in forever. I had become a Pinterest recipe hoarder. So one day this week, when my grand daughter was over, I got out cookbooks to show her. I started going through some of them and found some new recipes to try. This black bean soup was one of  them. Oh boy, we truly loved it. So maybe it's time to give my Pinterest recipe boards a rest and bust out the good ole recipe books.
If you like the taste of beans with a little Southwestern flare, then this recipe is perfect for you. If you don't like the after effect of beans, then I'm not quite sure what to tell you other than to go buy some good old Beano at the nearest Rite Aid haha!

Recipe Adapted From The Cookbook: "Healthy Homestyle Cooking" by Evelyn Tribole

*Makes 4 medium bowls of soup

1 cup dried black beans
6 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup dry cooking sherry
1 cup chopped onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large  carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 1/4 tsp coriander
1/2- 3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp liquid smoke

*For garnish: grated cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro

In a large saucepan, combine the beans and the broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 min.
While the beans are cooking, combine the sherry, onions and garlic in a skillet. Cook and stir until the onions are tender.
Add the onion mixture, carrots, celery, cumin, coriander, pepper and liquid smoke to the beans. Bring up to a boil again. Cover and reduce the heat to med low and simmer for 30-40 min or until the vegetables and the beans are both tender. Serve topped with cheddar cheese, and cilantro.

Green Chili and Chicken Stew

For the first time in a very long time, it was cool enough outside, a few days ago, to warrant making "good ole" comfort food. I am longing for the days when it feels good to stoke up the oven, instead of causing me to sweat profusely and crank up the air conditioner even more. Those days don't happen all that often here in Southern Cali! So when they do, you bet I get excited about cooking even more than normal. Soup just sounded so good and I knew I had the ingredients on hand to make this recipe. This one is a keeper and I say "bring on more cool days" so I can make this again!

Recipe Source: http://www.insockmonkeyslippers.com/tag/green-chili-stew




1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large can diced green chilies
 1 serrano pepper, chopped
1 bag dry Northern white beans, rinsed
9 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp Ancho chili powder
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 cup corn (I used frozen corn that had been thawed)

 salt/pepper to taste
1 cup warm milk
2 Tbsp Masa
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Fresh lime and Avocado, for garnishes
(original recipe stated that sour cream and jack cheese are good garnishes also)





In a large stock pot, saute onions and garlic in 1 Tbsp olive oil, until soft. Add green chilies, serrano pepper and rinsed beans. Add the chicken broth cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour and then add the cooked, shredded  chicken and the corn. Cover again and simmer for 1more hour or until beans are completely soft and tender. Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper as needed.

In a bowl, combine the warm milk and masa. Stir well. Then pour into the stew. Stir well and cook for 10 more minutes, uncovered. Add cilantro, stir and serve with fresh lime juice and avocado slices.

Chickpea Veggie Soup

I was going to try to post something clever and witty tonight, but I guess today was one of those days where I apparently used up all my wit and sass at work with students (gotta love those high school students), so I guess you will be stuck reading a boring old post that talks about how good this soup is. But really....how boring can reading about food be? It cant be!! Reading about, cooking, or trying food is to me what walking through Lowe's is to my husband. I don't quite get it, but he can stare at tools all day long. Me? I'm looking at the tools and thinking "oh I could use that to make some kind of fun thing in my kitchen." You think I'm kidding? That is how my brain works. I see something and I instantly try to figure out how I could work it into my kitchen or a recipe etc!
Oh back to the soup...sorry I lost track. But I guess now it's not a boring old post haha! 

It shouldn't even be called soup. It should be called "a bowl of healthy." There are so many reasons that this soup is healthy and yummy, but I won't bore you with them all. It felt so good to eat such a wonderfully healthy dinner. Now if I can just keep from going to the freezer and digging into the ice cream that is calling out my name!!

The original recipe can be found here:
http://www.ediblexperiments.blogspot.com/2012/02/chickpea-veggie-soup-with-smoked.html

I really only added a couple of little things (jalapeno and oregano) to this recipe to change it. Amy Jo over at www.ediblexperiments.blogspot.com did a fantastic job with this soup already, so not a lot of changes needed to be made for my liking!

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
2 cans (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3 large red potatoes, chopped into bite size chunks
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (take out the seeds if you do not want the spice)
4 cups hot water
4 chicken bullion cubes (or 4 tsp of bullion powder)
1 zucchini, chopped into bite size chunks
1/4 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
lemon wedges


In a large pot, heat up the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and the sugar. Stir occasionally. When the onions are soft, add the garlic, paprika, ginger, cumin and oregano. Give it a quick stir. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garbanzo beans, potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno, hot water, and chicken bullion. Bring to a simmer, cover, and let simmer until the potatoes are tender. This should take about  20 minutes. Add the zucchini and let simmer for another 5 or 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Taste and add salt, pepper, and more paprika as needed. Serve with lemon wedges. Squeezing the lemon into your soup makes it extra yummy!

Vegetable and Pasta Soup

I'm pretty sure no one actually needs to learn how to make vegetable soup, but just in case, I decided to blog this tonight. I am still waiting for the weather to get cold and stay cold, but in the mean time, I just had to make soup. Too bad I can't make it in the morning when it's still nice and cool outside. Southern California had better figure out pretty soon that it's Fall or I'm going to be seriously disappointed. Wait...I already am!! So in the afternoons, I still hibernate while patiently waiting for the day time cold weather to finally come and stay. I say cold, but we all know in Southern California, that it's never truly that COLD, it's just less warm haha! (except for the nights...bbbrrrrr)
This soup was so delish!! My hubby probably would have preferred it with some chicken  or some kind of protein in it, but I was just hungry for vegetable soup tonight. I can't wait for leftovers tomorrow. Yummy!!
* I took a picture of my hubby's serving and forgot to take a picture of mine, which had fresh shaved parmesan and fresh basil on the top as garnishes. 

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 can green beans (I didn't have any fresh, but you can use fresh also)

3/4 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes ( you can use less if you don't want your soup spicy at all)

Salt/Pepper to taste

1 Tbsp thyme

1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes

6 cups water

2 cups rainbow rotini (or your favorite pasta)

In a  large soup pot, melt the butter and toss in the onion, garlic, celery, carrots, green beans, italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook until the vegetables are semi soft. Add the can of tomatoes (including the juice) and the water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add your pasta and cook for about 10 minutes. *You can also serve this with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top, and/ or fresh basil.

Pork and Chicken Posole

I love feeding people. I truly think it's my calling :) So when a phone call came at the last minute this afternoon that my daughter and son in law were on their way over with friends....I didn't have to panic because I had almost finished cooking a big pot of home made posole. I am pretty sure it was a hit as there was none left to send with my hubby to work tomorrow. This is not a quick recipe, but it sure is an easy one. This picture does not do this soup justice as you really can't see all the goodies snuggled down deep in the broth, but trust me it's yummy! Also, this picture was taken before I added all my garnishes to the top of the soup.

2 small-med onions, diced
1 lb pork, cut into bite size pieces
2 lbs chicken, cut into bite size pieces
12 cups of beef broth
2-4 lbs of hominy, drained (canned is fine)...use as much or as little as you like
1/4 cup garlic, minced
4 cups red chili sauce ( I use las palmas colorado sauce..it's like enchilada sauce)
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp oregano
4-8 Dried New Mexico Chilies

* for garnish: Chopped cabbage, diced onion, cilantro, fresh lime juice

In a large soup pot, heat your onion, pork and chicken. When meat just begins to brown, add the beef broth, hominy, garlic, chili sauce, cumin and oregano and the dried chilies. Stir well. Cook for about 2 hours or longer, until hominy is softened. Use a spoon to dip out all the dried chilies. Make sure you dip out the stems also. Throw all the chilies away.  Serve with your favorite garnishes.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

I adapted this recipe from a recipe I found on Pinterest. I must admit that Pinterest could easily take the place as my new found second love haha! Just kidding. God first, then my hubby, then family and friends...then Pinterest? ;)
Even though it's not quite fall yet and I usually wait until then to make soups, I decided to try this one out today. I gave it a quick sample and oh my goodness, I loved it! It was super easy and basically I just threw all the ingredients into a crock pot after I got off of work. (Yes I'm blessed to be home super early everyday from work). It took about 3 hours in the crock pot, but it's still on high at this point and I'm sure the tastes can only get better as it sits in there warming for longer. So I will just let it go until dinner time tonight and then voila...a super easy and tasty meal ♥

3 cups chicken broth
4 skinless, chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
3 large jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (12 oz) bag frozen corn
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
8 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
 2-3 oz pepper jack cheese, grated

2-3 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
* for a garnish:

chopped cilantro

extra cojita cheese, crumbled

You can add tortilla chips if you would like

 Place all ingredients (except garnish) into your crock pot. Make sure to use already cooked and shredded chicken. Turn the crock pot onto high and leave for a few hours. I am cooking mine about 5 hours today! I'm sure it can only taste better the longer it cooks!

Pork Ribs with Tomatillo Sauce

I love being able to walk across the street and have my friend teach me how to cook authentic Mexican food. This is one her recipes and it's ssssoooo good!  It's a little spicy, but that's how I like my food. You will need to have the butcher at the local grocery store, cut the ribs into shorter pieces for you. Then when you get it home, you can cut it in between the bones to make a lot of pieces.

2 lbs pork spare ribs, cut into small sections
1 1/2 cups oil (canola or vege)
salt to taste
5-7 dry chili arbol (small dried red chilies)
2 cloves garlic, whole
1 section of an onion, not cut (approx. 1/4 of a small- med onion)
2 lbs tomatillos, peeled and rinsed
3/4 cup water

Put ribs into a very large skillet or stock pot. Cover with water. Add  the oil and lots of salt. Boil uncovered on high for 1 1/2 - 2 hours on med-high. Stir occasionally. ( Don't add more water. )        Let water boil down and the meat should turn brown.
While the ribs are cooking, make your salsa by  roasting (in a dry skillet with no water or oil) the chili arbol, garlic and onion. Set aside. In the same skillet, (with no water or oil) roast the tomatillos on high for 2 minutes then cover them and turn to medium to roast the tomatillos for 15 more minutes. When they are finished roasting, pour the 3/4 cup water on top of them. Place the tomatillos with the water, and the chili arbol mixture into the blender. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Now take a ladle and remove as much of the oil from the top of the water, that the meat cooked in, as you can. Discard the oil. Put the meat back into the pan after the oil is removed. Add the blended salsa to the meat and stir. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

Chicken Posole

Last week my husband came home from work saying how much he loved the Posole they sell there. I got to thinking "hhmm how does a girl who was never taught how to  make authentic mexican foods, begin to find out how to do this"? Well.....I have the sweetest neighbor who is such a great cook. I went to her house and though her English is still "broken" I did my best to write down the recipe as she told me. Tonight after it was finished, I took a bowl to her house for a seal of approval. Guess what??? I got it!! She told me she really liked it and I made her promise she would tell me the truth even if she thought it would hurt my feelings. My husband also gave me the stamp of approval. So tomorrow for lunch it's yummy leftovers for sure!!
*Her recipe calls for an entire chicken, but my husband doesn't like dark meat too much, so mine is cooked with only chicken breasts and I improvised with a couple bullion cubes to add some chicken flavor to the broth. 

1 Medium size can hominy
1 whole, peeled, bulb of garlic (yes the entire bulb...not just a clove)
1 whole onion
4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
4 California dried chilis
2 clove garlic
lg pinch of marjoram
lg pinch of oregano
salt to taste

*For garnish, cut up cabbage, radishes, lime slices, onion and cilantro

Use a knife to poke holes into the onion and the garlic bulb. Boil the garlic. the onion and the hominy (with plenty of water to keep it covered) for one hour, with a lid on the pot.
In the meantime, while this is boiling, put the red chilies into boiling water for 5-8 minutes to soften them. Cut the stems off after they are soft and put the softened chilis into a blender along with the 2 cloves garlic, the marjoram and the oregano. Blend thoroughly. (you might need to add a little bit of water to the blender). After it's blended, push through a strainer into a bowl. After the hominy has cooked for one hour and is soft, add the chicken and the chili mixture into the pot with the hominy. Cook until the chicken is done. Salt if needed and serve with garnishes on the side.

Minestrone Soup

Home made soup tastes so good on these cold winter days, but this particular soup tasted amazing on this cold day. It's a particularly healthy soup and fairly easy to prepare. If you can chop vegetables and open cans, you will do fine with this recipe.

Here is a link to the recipe on the Food Network Site
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/minestrone-soup-recipe/index.html

Baked Potato Soup

Who doesn't love home made soup on cold days like this? John is at the shooting range with friends and I am at home in the cozy, warm house making soup. I tried a new version of potato soup tonight. I used to make a family recipe, which I love the taste of, but I have never  been a fan of the thin consistency. This recipe is definitely a thick potato soup that reminds you of eating a big stuffed baked potato. I am looking forward to everyone coming home from the shooting range so we can finally eat! After the dinner is leftover chocolate peppermint ice cream cake. Yummy!

*Sorry if this picture doesn't do it much justice. John has my camera at the shooting range and I had to use my phone camera.


Ingredients:
1 pkg bacon
2/3 cup butter
7 cups milk
8 small- medium or 4 ex large potatoes (baked, peeled and cubed)
1 whole stalk green onions
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper


Directions:
Fry bacon till crisp. Drain, crumble and set aside.
In a large soup pot, melt the butter over med-high heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly while adding and whisk until smooth and a little thickened. Stir in potatoes, half the green onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix in 3/4 of the bacon,  1 1/4 cups of the cheese, sour cream and salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until cheese is melted.
Serve with the extra bacon, cheese and green onions garnished on the top of the soup.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Today was a cool rainy day, so I made a big pot of chicken and rice soup. It has always been one of John's favorites and once again, he loved it! There is nothing like homeade hot soup on a cool evening. Served with hot buttered french bread and some vegetables, it was the perfect end to a great day.

  Chicken and Rice Soup

1 whole chicken
1 whole stalk chopped celery ( Yes, the entire bundle of celery)
Shredded Carrots ( I buy the pre shredded carrots in the bag and I use about 3/4 of the bag)
1 whole onion, chopped
1/2 cup Rice (or more) (use long grain rice, not minute rice)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Place whole chicken in a large pot. Cover with water. Boil for at least 45 min to an hour until done. Make sure you keep it covered with water while it's boiling. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. In the chicken stock, place celery, carrots, onion, rice, salt and pepper. Shred up the chicken and place the shredded chicken meat back into the soup pot. Cook until vegetables are tender and serve!

Super Easy and Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Well...this is my favorite weather and my favorite time of year. It's a cold, overcast day and it makes me feel warm and cozy inside. The pumpkin scented candle flickers as it burns in the kitchen window and the smell of pumpkin wafts through the air. I sit snuggled on the couch under a blanket reading. The happiness that the Fall season brings me is nothing compared to the joy my Heavenly Father bestows upon me everyday!!
Just the fact that we as Americans not only have money to buy food, but we have the ability to make all these food choices is simply amazing. So as I sit and write this blog, I am simply humbled by the fact that God has instilled in me not only the desrire to cook and bake, but He alone has provided the means to do those things. So, on to the food part of my blog.....
Tonight I made a simple Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner. It's so easy that anyone could do it and it provides a lot of protein. Let me know if any of you ever try it. I also would love any suggestions on how it could be made different or better!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 (16 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
1 Can Rotel Tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilis
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
1 can chicken broth
2-3 cooked and diced chicken breasts
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 packet Lawrys taco seasoning powder
1/2 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Powder
Grated Cheese
Tortilla Chips

Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese. Heat over a medium fire till heated through, stirring occassionaly. Pour into bowls and top with cheese and toritlla chips. The cheese should melt quickly on top of the hot soup. Enjoy!!!