Mary's Tortilla Soup

Last year when my dad passed away, my BFF Jen Clementine set up meal support for my family, which was a huge lifesaver. Honestly it's the only way my kids were going to get fed because I was not functioning at all. My friend Mary brought us this soup one night, and it was so good. My vegetarian brother was tempted to give up his non-meat eating ways to have some, he thought it looked and smelled so good. I was really excited to make it again, but given my family's soup aversion I never had. Plus it always seems weird to me to make soup in the summer in Phoenix. Who wants to eat soup when it's over 110 degrees outside?! But, after the Ham and Beans was decently received, I figured it was worth making. Our Wednesday and Thursday nights for the past month and half have been crazy busy with my bible study group meeting at our house on Wednesday nights and Boy #1 having soccer practice on Thursday nights, so I have been on the lookout for crockpot meals to make my life easier.

Mary's Tortilla Soup


Chicken Tortilla Soup

3-4 chicken breasts (frozen ok)
2 cans corn
2 cans chicken broth (14oz)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can green chilies
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
16 oz sour cream (I use the light)
1 handful of cilantro

Put it all (except sour cream and cilantro) in the crock pot on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Take out the chicken and shred it, then add back in. Add the tub of sour cream (you need to temper it so it doesn't curdle). Garnish with cheese, avocados and chips.

*****

I'm not sure if the husband had any of this last year when Mary brought it over since he wasn't that hip on soup, but he LOVED it this time. He requested this be the only tortilla soup I ever make again. Boy #1 thought it was okay, Boy #2 devoured it and asked for seconds. Woo hoo! It was really so easy to make, especially being able to just throw frozen chicken breasts in with everything else. I also added in a can of black beans because I had them on hand and thought they'd be a nice addition. I used regular tomato sauce, but I bet using El Pato sauce instead would be tasty as well. Hmmm...I'll have to try that next time.

I picked up some ciabatta rolls the same day we were having this, sliced them in half and put them under the broiler to brown them a bit, then spread with butter and sprinkled on some shredded cheddar cheese and put back under the broiler to melt the cheese. I figured Boy #1 wouldn't be that excited about the soup, so I wanted there to be something with the soup that he'd like. He thought the cheese rolls were the best thing ever. He kept saying, "Mom this cheese bread is just too good!" Ah, bless him.

This soup will probably be in high rotation in our house this winter. Thanks, Mary, for such a great recipe!

Oh, and the amazing cheese bread:

Creamy Beef Taquitos

I know I've shared my love of the Meal Planning 101 blog before. I don't think I've had a single bad recipe from her website, so I go to it a lot when I need meal ideas. My Bff, Jen Clementine had made these awhile ago and really liked them, so I thought I'd give them a try. I'm always game for a new Mexican food recipe.

Creamy Beef Taquitos
Source: Meal Planning 101 blog


1 lb lean ground beef
2 tbsp taco seasoning (homemade or store-bought)
1/3 cup light cream cheese
1/4 cup salsa
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp green onions, chopped
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, mozzarella or pepperjack)
12 small flour tortillas (can also use corn tortillas)

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and break it up into crumbles as it cooks. Add the taco seasoning and cook the beef about 8 minutes until cooked through.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add salsa, lime juice, cilantro and green onions and stir to combine. Once the beef is browned, add the beef and cheese and combine well. You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Place 2-3 tbsp of beef mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Roll it up as tight as you can. If your tortillas are cracking or breaking, you can microwave them for 10-20 seconds with a damp paper towel over top. Once rolled, place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or brush with a bit of oil and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip taquitos in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or Chipotle Ranch dressing.

*****

The only thing I changed up was to use ground turkey instead of ground beef because I had it on hand, and the husband was going through a "let's lay off the red meat" phase for awhile back when I made these.

Like I expected, these were super easy to put together, fast to cook, and really tasty!! Winner winner, taquito dinner! I love those frozen taquitos that you see a lot at parties, but these were so much better. I'll definitely make them again. Actually I'm wishing I had some ground beef or turkey on hand so I could make them this week!

Mexican Pizza

I'm so far behind on my blog I figure it's easiest to just start with what's current and go back as I have time. Otherwise I'm going to end up overwhelmed and nothing will ever get done. I looked through my pictures today and realized I have been making a lot of new stuff and have a lot of catching up to do. There are nine things on my list that I want to do posts on. Sheesh!

I had a really yummy sounding dinner planned for one night this week, but then it turned out the meat I needed for it wasn't as much on sale as I thought it would be when I went to the store, so I had to come up with a new plan. I was catching up on blogs I follow and went to Meal Planning 101 for some ideas. One of the first posts on there was ideas for ground beef. I recently purchased 10 pounds of ground beef, so I was open to ideas. I saw this taco pizza recipe and had everything on hand for it, so it was a go!

Mexican Pizza
Source: Meal Planning 101 blog

1 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp taco seasoning (homemade or store-bought)
Splash of water

Your favorite pizza crust
1 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream
Grated cheese (cheddar, mozza or Monteray Jack would all work fine)
1-2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup lettuce, finely shredded or 2 tbsp fresh basil, finely shredded

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a skillet over medium high heat, brown the beef with the onions and garlic. Add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, salsa spice, salt and pepper (or sub out all these spices for your favorite taco seasoning). Mix and cook for about 30 seconds then add a splash or two of water to let the spices create more of a sauce for the beef. Turn to low and let simmer a couple minutes until the water has evaporated and remove from heat.

Put your pizza crust on a baking sheet or pizza stone. Mix together the salsa and sour cream and spread about 1/3 - 1/2 cup over your pizza crust. Top with the taco seasoned beef and shredded cheese. I bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees and then broil for 1-3 minutes to get the cheese on top a nice golden brown. You should note that I use the par-baked shells from the bakery, so if you use fresh dough adjust your cooking time and temperature accordingly.

Give the pizza just a moment or two to cool ever so slightly and then top with diced tomatoes and lettuce or basil. Serve with the rest of the salsa sour cream as a dipping sauce.

*****

I didn't have any taco seasoning on hand, so I just threw in some chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. It was definitely a tad under-seasoned, but I didn't want to over do it. I also could have spread more of the sauce on my crust. Overall, though, we really liked this new take on pizza. The kids didn't have any toppings on theirs, but the husband and I both did and really liked it. I'd definitely make this again!!

Spicy Zucchini Quesadillas

My internet is working currently (which means it will probably stop in the next couple minutes), so I just had to really quick post the recipe I made last night because they were AWESOME!!! So awesome in fact that I didn't even take a picture because I was too busy diving into it. The recipe comes from a cookbook put together by members of a parenting message board I belong to and has all sorts of yummy recipes. I was looking through it recently for some new vegetarian meal ideas and saw this. Since I occasionally get zucchini in my produce co-op basket I made a mental note of the recipe. Of course when I got said zucchini this past weekend, I had already packed that cookbook for our big upcoming move. Oops. But, thankfully, one of the other women on the board posted the recipe so I didn't have to open all my cookbook boxes (yes, I have multiple already and still haven't finished packing them all) and find this one.

Spicy Zucchini Quesadillas

1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon butter, softened
2 cups zucchini, shredded
2 TBSP taco seasoning
2 Tbsp butter, softened
8 flour tortillas
8 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded

In a skillet, saute onion and red pepper in 1 tsp. butter for 3 mins. Stir in zucchini and taco seasoning; saute 3 to 4 mins longer or until veggies are tender. Remove from heat. Spread remaining butter onver one side of tortillas. Place tortillas butter side down on a griddle. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cheese and 1/4 cup zucchini mixture over half of each tortilla; fold over. Cook over low heat for 1-2 mins on each side, or until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and jalapenos.

*****

The only thing I changed was using Monterey Jack cheese instead of pepper jack because I didn't think the boy would eat it that way. And instead of sauteeing the onion and red pepper in butter, I just sprayed the pan with non-stick spray to save some calories. I wasn't entirely sure if the recipe was supposed to make eight quesadillas (each tortilla fold over in half) or four (tortilla spread out and topped with a second), so I went with making four.

These were FANTASTIC!!! We all really liked them. The boy and baby originally split one, but the baby ended up having part of mine because he wanted more! The husband and I both thought a whole one was very filling, which was good because I was concerned it wouldn't be enough food and we'd end up hungry still after we ate. This is definitely getting added in to my vegetarian meal rotation--especially with the summer approaching and the abundance of zucchini it can bring!

I'll make them again soon so I can post a picture!

Fish Tacos

What a crazy weekend we had! That's why I'm just now posting for the weekend on Monday. I'll have to do a separate post on why our weekend was so crazy--it's because my husband is the best husband ever!! But, I'll post on that next.

Last week the husband had requested fish tacos for dinner one night. I wanted to find a new way of doing them and RecipeZaar.com of course came through for me!


Fish Tacos
Recipe #26516

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 package taco seasoning mix, divided
1 lb cod or white fish fillet, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 4)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 (12 count) package taco shells, warmed or flour tortillas
Toppings (shredded cabbage, chopped tomato, lime juice, taco sauce)

Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, cilantro and 2 tablespoons seasoning mix in small bowl.

Combine fish, vegetable oil, lemon juice and remaining seasoning mix in medium bowl; pour into large skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until cod flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Fill taco shells with fish mixture. Top with toppings.

*****

This is my new favorite way to make fish tacos. The sauce was fantastic, although it made way too much. I'll cut it in half next time because I had to throw out a lot of it (I couldn't come up with anything to do with what was left). We all really liked this--even the boy who usually isn't very fond of fish tacos. I had some catfish nuggets in the freezer that needed to be used up, so that was the fish I use. For toppings we had tomatoes and avocados. I was kind of kicking myself because I had just thrown out half a head of cabbage on Saturday because I didn't know what I was going to use it for, and I could have used it last night as a taco topping. Oops!