Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Southwestern Soup


The Spatularette's budget week rolls on, and this time with a spicy soup recipe courtesy of Tall One's mom.  We've made a couple slight modifications to the original recipe, but for the most part this is something that Tall One has enjoyed at home for years.  Homemade Southwestern Soup is way more flavorful, fresh, and affordable than anything you'll find in the canned soup aisle at the grocery store.  This week Tall One whipped up a batch to take to work each day as a wallet friendly lunch.  We suggest you do the same!


Ingredients:
-1 large yellow onion, chopped
-1 Tbs vegatable oil
-2 medium carrots (or 12 baby carrots), chopped
-1 lb potatoes, peeled, sliced, and slivered
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1 15 oz jar salsa (mild, medium or hot, depnding on your spice tolerance)
-2 14.5 oz cans chicken or vegetable broth
-1 15 oz can tomato sauce
-2 tsp dried cilantro or oregano
-1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced (you decide how spicy you like it)

Optional for topping:
-shredded cheese
-tortilla chips/strips

In a large frying plan, heat 1 Tbs of olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until soft and buttery.  Add all remaining ingredients.  This soup really does get hot, so be careful when choosing your salsa and jalapenos if you are sensitive to spicy foods.  We used medium salsa and about 1 1/2 jalapenos and it gave it a really nice kick!  Bring soup to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.  Serve topped with shredded cheese and tortilla chips or strips.

Since we're cooking on a budget, we didn't want to buy a whole bag of tortilla chips when we had some leftover burrito shells around the house.  To make tortilla strips, we cut a burrito shell into thin ribbons and baked in a 350 degree oven on a greased baking sheet for about ten minutes.


Bring this to work for lunch and you'll be the envy of your office!
XOXO,
Tall and Small

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