Chicken Tortilla Soup

 The Return of Seriously with a Chicken Tortilla Soup

Seriously Soupy has been seriously absent these past few days (if you hadn't noticed). And I am not happy about it. The past week involved regular toddler madness/fun-times, new employment opportunities (yippee!), trying to figure out childcare, finish up some freelance projects, and of course life in general that made it very difficult to devote the time and attention needed to making soup. This also had me realize that as a one-person operation I still want to focus on the site, but that I would have to go back to my original intention, which was to "create a new soup every week and write about it," as opposed to providing daily content. Although I still want to do that and think soup deserves to be talked about daily, I'm just not able to do that right now. But, of course this can (and hopefully) will change very soon with the addition of more soupy contributors (like you!) who will share their favorite recipes or new ideas to the site. After all, I do want to make this site more of a soupy community, and not just me sprouting off my own ideas of bean and vegetable soups all the time! If you are interested in contributing to the site, please email me directly at seriouslysoupy@gmail.com.

Anyway, so for this week I was trying to figure out a simple, yet hearty meal-in-a-soup concept by sticking to using items I had in my home. I decided on making a chicken tortilla soup—a pretty common little soupy, but one that I had never made before. I ended up having to buy many of the ingredients, but it was worth it! This soup was both spicy and a little tangy, and of course pretty darn good. Let me know what you think!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
32oz of Pacific Organic Chicken Broth
2-4 cups of water (start with two and add more, if needed)
28oz can of Plum Tomotoes
3 organic chicken breasts
1/2 of a red onion, chopped up
1 tablespoon of pre-minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 scallion, cut up
1 jalapeno pepper, cut up (can be omitted)

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Medley of various peppers (red, orange, and yellow)
1 can of corn or 2 ears of corn
2 cups of kidney beans (or bean of your choice)
Splash of lime juice (use your discretion)
1/2 of an avocado for garnish
couple of tortilla chips for garnish
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:
In a soup pot or large pan, drizzle about one-two tablespoons of olive oil. Chop up the onion, scallion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers, adding them to the pot. Let cook on a low heat and cut up the chicken into small squares, add to the pot and let cook. Add the tomatoes. I used plum (what I had), but it might be easier to use a pureed can of sauce since I had to cut up the tomatoes. Or, you can be really adventurous and use whole tomatoes. Chop up the rosemary and various colorful peppers, pour in the water, chicken broth and lime juice, and let cook on a low-to-medium flame, stirring and checking on the soup periodically. While this was cooking, I decided that the soup would also have beans, so I started a second pot of water, let it boil and added the dry kidney beans. When the beans were finished (about two hours later), I added the corn to the soup and added some seasonings as I tasted (cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper). I also added about 2 more cups of water (it was pretty spicy-never deny the strength of a jalapeno!), grabbed some chips, and cut up some avocado for a garnish and it was go to good!

How have you made Chicken Tortilla Soup?

Seriously Soupy Serena

10 Super Soups for the Super Bowl

Image from Gridskipper.com (I know, I know the Bears didn't make it in)

It's that time of year again - Super Bowl!! -  where legions of fans gather together to eat, scream at the TV, bump chests, and eat some more. Ok, so I know this event is much more than that, but as a confused observer I am a bit ignorant in the ways of football, which basically means that I don't know what the heck is going on. No worries, the rules are explained to me time-and-time again and I still glaze over, but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the communal aspect of having friends together (even if it is to scream at a TV) and, of course, the food! Greasy, uncomfortably filling, and generally unhealthy, super bowl parties seem to be lacking one major component to complete the festivities (at least in my world) and that of course is soup! Having soup at your super bowl party will start the evening off on a semi-healthy note (stop laughing) and not just include chili (although this is also an option and can even be made healthy and yes, even vegan). I am working on a super bowl soup recipe for Friday's post that I promise won't be a standard offering. Until then, here are some other soups that you may want to feature (or bring) to your next soup (er) bowl party:

10 super soups for the super bowl
1. Super Bowl Sunday Soup from Red Velvet Cafe-A hearty beef stew complete with a heaping dose of veggies and spices. Takes some time to prep (seven hours!), so be sure to factor that into your day.
2. Meatfree Super Bowl Chili from Starting Over-Utilizing various beans (black, garbanzo, kidney,  and vegetarian baked beans), this meatless chili was cooked in a slow cooker, which I'm sure could be modified into a pot. The recipe also includes corn, celery, bell peppers, and various spices to complete this filing meat-free chili.
3. Super Bowl Chili (with Meat) from That's So Yummy-Of course most super bowl parties don't feel complete without meat chili, and this one from That's So Yummy does not mess around. It is complete with ground beef, beans, and bacon (yes, bacon) that is sure to satisfy even the hungriest football fanatic.
4. Broccoli and Cheese Soup with Soymilk from Curious Eats- Start your party off with this healthier version of a broccoli and cheese soup that uses soymilk and reduced fat cheese.
5. Pace Picante Chicken Tortilla Super Bowl Soup from Cookie Girl-Using Pace Picanta salsa, this recipe is essentially a chicken soup with a twist. Top it off with Cookie Girl's homemade tortilla chips for a perfect pre-game side.
6. Cajun 15 Bean Soup from The Bear Brunch-A soup of 15 beans and sausage is surely a scrumptious meal to complete any super bowl party. The recipe also includes onions, garlic, tomatoes and lemon to complete the soup.
7. All Veggie Vegetable Soup from Eat At Home-Even all veggie soup can be enjoyed on the Super Bowl. This one includes five veggies that can be modified based on your preferences and even includes a cornbread and cheddar muffin recipe to accompany this healthy soup.
8. Baked Potato Soup from Raising Little Women-Potato Skins, Potato Chips, and Potato Skins-potatoes are a major par of the Super Bowl. Why not switch things up a bit by having your potatoes skins in soup?
9. Potato and Leek Soup from Seriously Soupy-Shameless Self-Promotion? Maybe, but this potato and leek soup is so easy to make and gives potatoes a subtle boast with onions, cream, and whole leeks.
10. Spicy Roasted Corn from Seriously Soupy-Yet another SS soup. I love this one for its spicy kick and of course of the yummy roasted corn. Double or even triple the amount of corn in the recipe since this one is suited for one, and adjust the amount of spices and salt by tasting it as you go.
11. To come on Friday...Stay Tuned!

What are some of your favorite super bowl soups?
Seriously Soupy Serena