Southwestern Soup

We have tried several new recipes lately, and will keep many of them. That's so exciting! I receive Weight Watchers magazine and Taste of Home (a gift from my wonderful Aunt Jeanie). Some months I don't even have time to open them, but I stole a few moments and read the new issue of Taste of Home cover to cover when it arrived, dog-earing the pages with recipes I wanted to try. We are slowly and delectably working our way through them.

Last night was Southwestern Soup. Hannah made it by herself and served it with a salad and tortilla chips. (We rarely have chips here, but I thought they would go well with the soup. They did.) I liked the soup, but I think I want to make some adjustments the next time. It had more liquid than I would have liked, and I wonder if adding some black beans or more kidney beans would be an improvement. Nevertheless, it was tasty and we enjoyed it.

Southwestern Soup
(October/November 2008 Taste of Home)

3 cups water
4 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce
2 cans (16 oz each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups salsa
2 tsp dried minced onion
1 to 2 tsp dried oregano
1 to 2 tsp dried basil
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips, optional

In a dutch oven, combine the first nine ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until heated through .

*We made this in the crockpot. Hannah combined the ingredients in the pot the night before and put it in the refrigerator. Before we left for our co-op, she set the crockpot on low. We turned off the pot and let it stop cooking/start cooling about an hour before dinner. It was still warm, but not steaming. No tongues were burned!

Sprinkle individual servings with cheese. My children also stirred in a dollop of sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips if desired.

Yield: 12 servings, 1 1/3 cups each


Tonight is a recipe from Ellie Krieger, one of my favorite Food Network cooks (chefs?). I am not sure when I will get to post about it since we have a spelling bee tonight and lots of activities tomorrow.

Until later,
Bev