There are certain dishes that were sacrificed when I transitioned into a vegetarian. I knew French Onion Soup would be on the list of beloved entrees I would depart with due to it’s beef broth content. I don’t know why I didn’t think of substituting the broth sooner and creating a Vegetarian French Onion Soup, one I could indulge in without the guilt.

Brrrrrrrrr. It is seriously cold…. not only outside but inside our house too. You see, we have impeccable timing here at Presley’s Pantry.  Let me tell you what happened.  Mando,

my fiance, is an insane clean freak, and as usual he was vacuuming our wood floor and got a little too close to the heater / pilot and blew it out.  Great, on the coldest week of the year.  So he tried to re-light it against my judgement, but for some unknown reason it won’t light.  We called the gas company and they won’t be here until Monday. By that time the cold will probably be gone. Of course I go into panic mode and start putting pounds of warm layered clothing on my 4 year old, which made him think he was going outside to play.  Once the family was all bundled up, I acted like the apocalypse was near and rushed out to my closest Walmart to stock up on a bounty of hearty foods to prepare to keep us warm on the inside.

I found a bag of Idaho potatoes, short ribs, carrots, celery…. I thought “We are going to eat hot bowls of caldo de costilla de res.  I’ll make a big batch and it will last a few days.” So much for that idea.  I did make a big batch but it was gone in a matter of minutes.  That’s what happens when friends find out caldo de castillas is being made.  Looks like I’ll need to head back out to restock.

Ingredients for caldo de costilla de res:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 – pounds short ribs (bone in)
• 1 – teaspoon salt
• 1 – teaspoon black pepper
• 1 – onion (sliced big)
• 5 – carrots (peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks)
• 6 – celery stalks (ends cut off and cut into 2 inch pieces)
• 4 – garlic cloves (peeled and smashed to bust open)
• 1 – bay leaf
• 2 – chile de arbol
• 1 – can mexican beer ( I used Tecate, but feel free to use Modelo, or Corona)
• 72 – ounces chicken broth (9 cups)
• 1/3 – cup fresh cilantro
• 2 – zucchini (cut into 2 inch pieces)
• 3 – potatoes (peeled and cut into big chunks)

Directions:

1. In a large dutch oven over a medium flame add in vegetable oil and allow it to get hot.
2. On a cutting board lay out short ribs and season with salt and black pepper.
3. Add short ribs to dutch oven and fry on all side to brown for about 10 minutes.  
4. Add in onion, carrots, and celery.  Place the short ribs on top of the vegetables to allow veggies to cook for about 7 minutes. 
5. Preheat oven to 385 degrees fahrenheit.
6. Add in garlic, bay leaf, and chile de arbol.  Pour beer over the ribs. 
7. Add in chicken broth and cilantro then bring to a boil.
8. Once the broth is boiling, add the lid to the dutch oven and place in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
9. Then remove the dutch oven from the oven and place it back on the stove top over a medium flame and add in the zucchini and potatoes. 
10. Cook on the stove top for an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until the zucchini and potatoes are cooked all the way through.
11. Serve with corn or flour tortillas.
12. Eat This Now! 

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  🙂

Try to imagine the sound of a hundred little lady-bugs on a marching line playing snare drums, slightly out of sync.  That’s what the rain sounds like when it hits the awning outside my window.  I wait for that sound because when I hear it, that means it’s time to get cozy.  I woke up to the lady-bugs drumming this morning and thought I would love to have some soup to accompany the musical rain.  The problem is that I just don’t have the time today to put hours into making one.  I was a little bummed but then I remembered I had a few packs of Bertolli’s soup in my freezer.  Thats right, I said soup in the freezer…. and they’re yummy.  

• Two Tasting Certificates for Bertolli Premium Meal Soup for Two
• Stainless steel soup ladle
• Woven oval bread basket
• Bertolli reusable freezer bag

2.)  Leave a comment on your thoughts of frozen soup.

Make sure to leave a comment below for each of your actions.  This will give you the opportunity to have two entries instead of one. 🙂