Taco Soup

So much for my promise to be a better food blogger... I am still adjusting to working and being a mom. Dinners were easy to make when you had time in the middle of the day or late in the afternoon, but when you get home from work at 6:30 or 7:00 and your feet hurt and your eyes are heavy and your kids need and want 100% of your attention dinner sometimes is sacrificed. Soups, from a can -- gasp! with a loaf of bread or crackers, sandwiches or salads become commonplace. I love to cook and I miss it terribly. But I am just too tired. I love to write and I miss it tired. But I am too tired. So blogging about my recipes has once again taken a back seat. While the snow days have thrown a wrench in my day and in my plans... I can not run my errands and do the work that I need to that has been building up due to loud children with extreme cases of Cabin Fever. But, I can cook! And somehow, yesterday, I managed to take a nap!

When I woke up it was practically dinnertime. I needed to create something warm, hearty, healthy and nutritious. I decided on Taco Soup. I use ground turkey instead of ground beef... I use salsa, low sodium chicken broth, taco seasonings, black beans and corn. For an added treat I found some Baked Tostitos Scoops. I wondered whether they would hold up. They did and they were delicious! So a hearty and healthy meal indeed. And a crowd-pleaser for sure!

Ingredients:

1 medium jar of good quality chunky salsa
1 carton of College Inn lower sodium chicken broth
1 lb ground turkey
2 tbs olive oil
Taco seasonings (I used a pre-measured package by McCormick)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn kernels, drained and rinsed
1 package shredded cheese, optional
1 tortilla chips (Baked Scoops) optional
2 cups of cooked rice

In a large pot add chicken stock and salsa and heat over medium high heat
Add beans and corn
When soup base starts to simmer lower heat
In a skillet add a tbs or two of olive oil and heat.
Add the ground turkey and the taco seasonings and brown the turkey.
As the turkey starts to cook and brown, begin crumbling it with a fork, spoon or spatula
When the turkey is cooked add it to the soup.
If there is a good bit of meat in your pan you can deglaze it with some of the soup and add it back into the soup pan.
Keep soup warm on low heat.
In a small pan cook rice so that rice yields 2 cups when cooked, (I use Uncle Ben's and follow the directions on their box.)

When the rice is done I scoop out a generous helping of soup with a ladle and add a big spoonful of the rice into the bowl and mix well.

We garnish with shredded cheese.

Four Bean Chili to Warm Your Soul

Our perfect chili to warm your soul

Homemade Chili Seasonings cannot be beat!

We thought the beans were so pretty we took a picture!

We eat a fair amount of chili 'round here... especially in the cooler months. We've been blessed with rain, snow and icky weather here in Connecticut. A nice soul warming meal was in order for last night!

I decided I was going to create my own recipe loosely based off of my husband's. I didn't tell him what I was doing, however. I waited until he sat down, took a bite and his eyes rolled to the back of his head! Ok, so slight exaggeration, but he said it was "excellent" and he is The Chili Expert in this house.

The recipe is simple, requires few ingredients and can be whipped up fairly quickly. Last night we served this with chips, but this would be great with rice or cornbread.

Ingredients:

1.5 - 2 lbs of lean ground beef (87% or 90% fat free)
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can pink kidney beans
1 can black kidney beans
1 can tomato sauce -- all cans mention 15 oz size
1 onion, diced
1 tbs olive oil for onions and 1 tbs if you use 90% ff beef

For the Chili Seasoning:

1.5 tbs salt
2 tbs garlic powder
1 tsp. ancho chili powder
1 tsp chili powder (cayenne)
2 tsp paprika
1 to 2 really good shakes of crushed red pepper.

(This will make a good bit of extra, so find a good glass jar for storage.)


Directions:

In a large skillet brown meat. This could take 10 - 15 minutes depending on how much meat you have.
As your meat browns, use your spoon to break it up into little pieces.
Meanwhile make your Chili Seasoning and slice onion
Drain and rinse canned beans and place them in a saucepan with the heat on low and sprinkle 1 tsp of your chili seasoning over the beans. Stir well.

If your meat requires draining, remove meat from pan, and drain fat. Add onions to pan and cook til translucent.
Return meat to the pan.
Add 1 to 2 tsp of the Chili Seasoning, stir and taste
Add tomato sauce.
Mix well.
Add beans.
Mix well.
Adjust seasonings if desired.
(If your skillet is too small use a large pan to combine all your ingredients.)
Keep on low heat until ready to serve.

Our usual accoutrements include:
Sour cream (I always use light or low fat)
Shredded cheese, cheddar, Jack or Mexican
Scallion, chopped
and, last night, the Hint of Lime tortilla chips!

Paella Mexican Style! (One Pan Meal)

Paella (pronounce pie-aye-ah) is a Spanish dish, originally of the Valencia region. Typically it consists of several types of meat such as chicken and sausage (chorizo) and various types of seafood such as clams, mussels, lobster and shrimp. A soufrite is a tomato based sauce that serves as the flavor and essence of the dish. A good soufrite can often take hours to make. Rice is then cooked in the soufrite and then the seafood and meats are added. It's a wonderful dish. My husband has a fabulous recipe which I will share at some other time.

I had some chicken and some sausage to use the other night and thought I might make a much easier, faster version of paella that promised to be equally as tasty. I gave my dish a Mexican flare and instead of slaving over a soufrite I used salsa! What a wonderful burst of flavor it added... instead of the saffron, I added cilantro. And black beans and corn. And shrimp. Our quick and easy shortcut was nothing less than spectacular and was devoured by the entire family.

From start to finish the dish took no longer than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, trimmed and cubed

4 sausages (preferably chorizo) sliced into 1/2 inch slices

1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of corn, drained (or 1 cup of frozen corn)

1 container of fresh chunky of salsa
Long grain rice, enough for 6 servings

Olive oil

2 cups of water

Sea Salt, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
25 medium/small shrimp, cooked and deveined

In a large saute pan add about 1 tbs of olive oil. Turn pan to high to heat the oil, then as soon as it starts to sizzle turn the heat to medium and add the chicken. Coat each piece with a little sea salt and a good shake of garlic powder and cook until it browns. When browned sufficiently remove from pan onto a plate lined with a paper towel. Set aside.

Add sausage to saute pan and cook well, until sausage also browns. Place on a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

Add a drop more of olive oil and add the rice. Cook until the rice browns slightly, then add the fresh salsa and water. Cook per directions on the box, until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked. If needed add more water.

When rice is cooked, turn heat to low and add chicken, sausage, shrimp, beans, and corn. Keep on low heat. Chop cilantro, about a handful, and sprinkle over the rice mixture prior to serving.

This dish is so simple and yet so easy to make!