Tortilla Soup

We had a slight reprieve from the weather. Slight. Short lived. We’re back to freezing our tuchuses (sp) off. With Spring less than a month away, all we can do is hold on tightly and pray for the best. Mother Nature has a funny way of keeping us on our toes – enough already, we’re sorry for whatever we did!

I was very hesitant about this soup. It’s what my foodie friends and I would jokingly refer to as ‘Canna Soup’. A canna this, a canna that. Looking at the ingredients (below) there is very little ‘me’ in this recipe and a lot of dependence on ‘them’. I may change it up a bit next time and add some fresh veggies, some extra herbs, etc.

This soup comes together so quickly, you’re done almost as soon as you start. Everything in one pot, everything at one time. Can’t possibly be easier than that.

• 1 T olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 t chili powder
• 2 cans (14 1/2 ozs each) diced tomatoes
• 2 cans (15 ozs each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14 1/2 ozs) reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 package (10 ozs) frozen corn kernels
• s&p
• 1 T fresh line juice
• tortilla chips

NOTE: If you use vegetable stock, this becomes vegetarian.

Heat oil in a large saucepan.

Add garlic and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

NOTE: Cooking dry spices for a moment or 2 before adding the rest of the ingredients really helps them release their flavor and aroma. I tend to do this all the time.

Add tomatoes (with juice), beans, broth, corn and 1 cup of water. Season with s&p.

Bring soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.

NOTE: The original recipe called for 1 cup of crushed tortilla chips to be added at this point. I though they would turn into a soggy mess and decided to just serve them on the side.

Serve soup with lime wedges and tortilla chips. A little sour cream or shredded cheddar would be nifty too!