Tortilla Soup

There is nothing like a good, hearty soup for dinner when it's cold out! Tortilla Soup is a favorite in our family. We have tried a few and there was one we fell in love with but when I ran the numbers the calories were frightening! Seriously, it was a heart attack in a bowl! I went over the recipe and tweaked it just enough to slim it down and add some things we like. It's a pretty forgiving soup so if you need to keep tweaking it for your family you should be able to do so without compromising flavor or texture. Enjoy!

Tortilla Soup

1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 whole garlic clove
1 TBS olive oil
4 (15 oz.) cans fat free chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 ounces taco seasoning
10 (6") corn tortillas, broken into small pieces
15 oz. cooked, diced boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup 1% milk
Shredded Cheese (we like Monterey Jack)
Light Sour Cream
Corn Chips*

Saute carrots, celery, onion and garlic in olive oil; add broth and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, chicken, taco seasoning and tortilla pieces and simmer (stirring occasionally) for 20 minutes or until tortilla pieces are fully dissolved. Reduce heat, add milk and simmer 10 more minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, corn chips and what ever other toppings your family desires. Without the toppings the recipe has about 100 calories per cup. The first day the soup is very mild; if you prefer it spicier add some cayenne and/or chili powder. We will also top ours with pepper jack instead of Monterey Jack. This keeps it milk for the kids but spicier for the adults. The spiciness increases the longer you refrigerate it.

*Corn Chips: The original recipe calls for cutting flour or corn tortillas into strips and frying them in oil until crispy. This tastes good but I'm lazy so I usually just buy some Fritos. :D Corn tortilla chips are also good. I even like this soup without anything added to it.

Green Smoothies

I promised someone I would get some smoothie ideas up so I figured I'd better do it. My basic green smoothie is fruit, spinach and yogurt but I typically wing it and just toss handfuls into the Vitamix until it tastes good to me. However, I realize that there are some who work better with formulas, at least as a place to start so here is a guideline for you:

Group 1

1 part (1/2 cup to 1 cup) any of the following:
spinach
kale
broccoli (1/2 cup, it's strong!)
cabbage
lettuce
other mild leafy greens that I haven't thought of

Group 2
2 parts (1 cup each) any of the following:
bananas
strawberries
peaches
blueberries
pineapple
pears
apples
grapes
cherries
berries
Basically any fruit you like, in combinations that you like. I like to use frozen fruit so I don't have to add ice. Carrots are sweet and can be added in place of one of the fruits.

Group 3
1 part (1/2 to 1 cup) any of the following:
yogurt
tofu
cottage cheese
milk (start with small amounts until it's the texture you like)

You can add protein powder or other powdered supplements if you like. I like to toss in a handful of almonds to bump up the protein and it gives it a nice creamy texture if well blended.

One combo I really like is Strawberry Banana:
1 whole banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup spinach
1 oz. tofu or plain nonfat yogurt
1/8 cup almonds
Blend until smooth and creamy. If it's really thick you can either blend longer until it begins to melt a bit or you can add water or milk to thin it down.