For those of you who visit my blog often, let me apologize for my absence.  You see, everyone in my household has caught a nasty bug that has us all sniffling, sneezing and now coughing.  I was the first one to bring the germs in the house.  Yikes!  Then while my Mom was visiting she caught it, next Mando got slammed by it, and lastly my little angel Maxie joined the ranks of the sickos.  It truly is a sorry sight…. I’ve never seen so many moco filled tissue papers stacked in the bin.  In short…. I’ve been ill and couldn’t muster up the energy to blog.  Sorry.  Tonight I decided I am DONE being sick and I’m gonna make sure my family gets better as well.  To ensure this happens, I made a pot of spicy tortilla soup to knock it right out of us!  We are all feeling better already….. seriously.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for tortilla soup:

1 1/2 – tablespoons olive oil

3 – small carrots (peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)

1 – large onion (thinly sliced)

1 – stalk of celery (cut into tiny pieces)

2 to 3 – chipotle chiles in adobo sauce ( cut into thin slices)

9 – cups of chicken broth

1 – teaspoon black pepper

1 – teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt

3 – Idaho potatoes (peeled, and sliced into 1 inch pieces)

2 – large zucchini (cut into 1 inch pieces)

1 – cup corn kernels

3 – cups chopped turkey (cooked)

2 – cups black beans (cooked and rinsed well)

Garnish:

limes

cilantro

queso fesco

avocado

tortilla chips or strips

In a large pot over a medium high flame, add olive oil and allow to get hot.  Add carrots and saute in oil for 5 minutes, mixing every so often.

Add onions to carrots and continue to saute for 4 to 6 minutes, then add in celery and chipotle. Mix well and saute for another 3 minutes or until onion is limp and chipotle chile is completely mixed into veggie mixture.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Once broth is boiling add in potatoes and cover pot with lid.  Let potatoes boil for 5 minutes, then add in the zucchini to the soup and let boil for 10 minutes, don’t forget to cover the pot with the lid.  Lastly add in corn, turkey, and black beans allow to cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Place soup in a bowl and garnish with fresh lime juice, cilantro, a few chunks of queso fresco, avocado and broken corn tortilla chips. ENJOY!!!!!

 *Remember this soup can be enjoyed any time, it is not only a cold chaser  🙂

I have my theory about salsa.  I don’t know how closely you follow my blog but a couple months back I posted a salsa recipe and talked about the crazy stinginess that surrounds salsa recipes.  I’m the polar opposite, if I come up with a salsa I’m proud of I want to scream it into the blog-o-sphere with a post/share.  I’ll start by telling you…. This yummy Green salsa is nothing like my Salsa for the ages, it’s just as good and it is worthy of five SCREAMS.  Try it out on your friends or family and you’ll quickly have a house full of noise. 🙂

Photos taken by: Nicole Presley and Mando Lopez

Ingredients for green salsa:

1 – tablespoon vegetable oil

1 – onion (remove outer peeling)

4 – garlic cloves (remove outer peeling)

1 – cup water

5 – tomatillos

1 – serrano chile

1 – jalapeno chile

1 – guero chile

1/3 – cup cilantro leaves

1 – large half of avocado (remove pit)

1 – teaspoon of white vinegar

1 – tablespoon Kikkoman Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Dressing & Sauce Lime

1 – tablespoon Kikkoman Soy Sauce

Place vegetable oil in a small frying pan over a medium high flame and allow to get hot. Then add peeled onion and peeled garlic cloves.  Fry till brown.  Set in the blender along with the rest of the ingredients and pulse till smooth.

Pour salsa out of blender into a bowl or pour into jars and refrigerate.  Serve with your favorite dish or simply place a bowl of tortilla chips by it’s side and watch them disappear.  Enjoy!

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Kikkoman’s Ponzu and Soy Sauce to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own.