Southwest Chicken Soup

This soup is quite simple to make, and has such a southwest flavor! You're gonna want to make this more than once!

You will need:

3-4 Tbsp oil

3 corn tortillas

1/3 c. chopped onion

1/3 c. chopped green/red pepper

1 clove garlic

1/4 c. flour

2 cans (10 oz. each) chicken broth

1 tsp. chili powder

2 c. cooked chicken, shredded

1 (15 oz.) can corn

Cook and shred chicken, set aside.

Chop the onion and pepper.

Saute in 1 Tbsp. oil in sauce pan over medium heat.

When onion and pepper begin turning soft, add garlic and stir for 1 more minute.

Add flour to pan and stir. 

Gradually stir in the broth, combining well with flour.

Add chili powder to soup and stir.

Add chicken and stir again.

Add corn and stir again :)

Leave soup to simmer on low while you prepare the tortilla strips.

Cut tortillas into strips. 

Lightly fry in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan over medium-high heat. Monitor closely and flip strips over when browned

Transfer strips to a paper towel to drain. (I used whole wheat tortillas, so the strips in this picture may be a little darker than yours if you use the corn tortillas) 

Serve hot soup in a bowl with tortilla strips, sour cream, and some cilantro if you like! 

Taco Soup and Salad

Here's another way to eat your taco soup.  In a bowl, fill with lettuce about half way.  Pour soup on top to desired amount.  Then sprinkle with cheese and drizzle a little ketchup on top.  Seriously, an awesome warm meal, with a good light salad at the same time.  We love eating it this way.  You can also do this with chili. 

Taco Soup

Thanks Mom for the recipe! My family has this soup all the time in the winter and I love it! It is also very very easy! I cooked mine in a crock pot, but you can also simmer it in a pot if you want.

Here's what you need:

1 lb ground chicken or turkey

1 onion, chopped

2 cans corn

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

1 package ( or 3-4 Tbsp) Taco Seasoning

Begin browning meat with the onion on  medium heat in a skillet

Cook until meat is no longer pink and onion is soft

Add corn (with the water from the can!)

Add kidney beans (with the juice water from the can!)

Add tomato cans (with the water from the can!)

Add tomato sauce (there is no extra water in this can!)

Add taco seasoning

Add meat and onion (no need to drain, unless you are using ground beef)

Stir and heat in the crock pot on high for 1-2 hours, or simmer in a pot on a stove for 30 minutes.

Serving options: shredded cheese, Fritos, sour cream, cilantro

Alpine Village House Soup

I got this recipe from A World of Wisdom Cookbook.  Everyone should own this cookbook.  I decided to do one of the soup recipes since its so cold out already.  Guys, this soup ROCKS. Everyone needs to try it.  So filling, so yummy, so warming!

Here's what you need:

2 qts. stock (chicken, beef, vegetable)

2 tsp. celery salt

2 tsp. multi herb seasoning (I used "Herb de Provence")

1 lb. ground turkey or chicken

1 minced onion

2 tsp. salt

2 minced carrots

1/2 cup olive oil

1 c. flour

Mince the onion and carrots.

Combine all but flour and oil in a large pot.  Boil for 30 minutes. (If prefer to use a crockpot, I boiled for fifteen minutes and then transfered everything to a crockpot)

In a small skillet, heat oil and add flour , stirring with a whisk. 

Oil and flour should be the consistency of mashed potatoes after mixed together. 

Add this roux to the soup, using a whisk to blend it well.  

I added mine to the crockpot for thirty minutes, then left on high for 3 hours.

Serve this with some homemade bread or rolls and I promise you, you will be glad it's cold out.

Weekly Spotlight: Garlic

Why not start off the Weekly Spotlight with my favorite food: Garlic.  I personally think that you cannot go wrong with garlic.  It smells good, tastes good, and is good for you! What else can you ask for? Okay, I suppose it can be used to repel dates that you are not interested in.


Here are my favorite things about it:

• It''s great for the heart and circulatory system
• It helps prevent many cancers
• It helps promote optimal weight control
• It is extremely anti-viral and anti-bacterial, even against pharmaceutical drug-resistant bacteria... beat that! 

There is one thing to keep in mind, however, all these benefits are promised to you as long as you do one thing! The main sulfur compound, allicin, that is responsible for all of these benefits, is only activated when the cell walls are ruptured.  So here is what you need to do to get the most out of your garlic:

1. Before pealing your garlic, crush it with the wide side of your knife.
2. Now peel your garlic (this should be easier to do after crushing it), and chop off the ends.
3. Mince your garlic.  
4. Wait 5-10 minutes before cooking to allow time for the allicin to activate

The more crushed and minced your garlic is, the more cell walls are ruptured, and the more allicin can be activated.

Recipe: Garlic Soup

Crush and mince 4 or 5 cloves of garlic (then let stand 5-10 min to activate the allicin)

Finely chop 1/2 an onion (also let sit for 5-10 minutes... this is important for letting the nutrients activate!)

Saute garlic and onion in small amount of sesame oil (canola oil is fine if you dont have anything else) until onion becomes soft. 

Then add 2 cups of chicken broth (I like to use the organic Better than Bouillon chicken broth mix) then heat it up just below boiling. 

Sometimes I will add spinach at the end also!

*It is important to not let anything boil or burn... if any of the food gets this hot, the nutrients will start dying off.

This is my favorite cold and flu recipe because it has helped us stay away from any major illnesses for about 2 years now! Thanks to the anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties found in all 3 ingredients, we always wake up feeling amazing the next day, and it tastes GREAT!