Mexican Potato Soup

If it were up to me, I'd be perfectly happy eating soup for dinner every night of the week. There is just something comforting about a hot bowl of soup. It's happy place-inducing, and there is nothing that hits the spot quite like it on a cold, winter day. The other reason I'm a big soup fan is because it's one-stop shopping, I love being able to make a whole meal in one pot. Less dishes, less preparation, less clean-up. That makes this mama happy!

This soup recipe started off as one thing, and me being the rebel that I am in the kitchen, spontaneously turned it into something completely different. I have to admit, my creative attempts don't always turn out so well, and sometimes they are flat out disasters (ask me about butternut squash and blue cheese pasta sometime...on second thought, don't). Lucky for me, and now YOU, this soup recipe is a complete keeper! You can probably expect to see many more soup recipes from me before the Winter is over. In the meantime, go whip up a batch of this super easy, 6-ingredient soup!

Mexican Potato Soup

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 tub Philly Cooking Creme, Santa Fe Blend
• 1 bag frozen southern style hash browns (the square kind)
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 lb 2% Velveeta, cubed
• 32oz. chicken broth
• 1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
• Optional: Shredded cheese, sour cream, or tortilla chips for garnishing

Directions:

Brown ground beef and add in taco seasoning in a large pot.

Add cubed velveeta, cooking creme, rotel, chicken broth, and hash browns and simmer for 30 minutes or until hash browns are warmed through and the velveeta is melted.

Taco Soup

I love it when dinner has cooked itself while I'm at work! Isn't that the best? I'm speaking of slow cookers here, in case you hadn't caught on yet. This is a filling and warm meal that's actually good for you too! It's called "soup" but its really more like a chili. It's very thick and hearty. In fact I prefer to just scoop it up with tortilla chips instead of my spoon!

 

In other news, I will be MIA for a little while. I'm getting married on Saturday and then off the Bahamas I go for a week! I'm sorry, but no I cannot take you all with me, my suitcase simply isn't large enough. I will get back to posting the week of January 24th, but until then, stay well and thanks for following!

 

 

 

 

Taco Soup

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut into pieces
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can navy beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can corn
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 1 envelope dry ranch dressing
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 1 cup of water

Directions:

Do not drain beans, corn or tomatoes

Put all ingredients in crock pot, stir and cook on low 6-10 hours.

If you are going to be cooking the soup for more than 6 hours, add the chicken in for the last 2 hours only, as it can dry out easily.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

I'm not usually a soup person. I can't say exactly why, its just not usually my favorite food. There are two exceptions though, the first being tomato soup with a grilled cheese. The second being when its colder than an eskimo outside and it becomes necessary to consume something warm and filling to keep yourself from turning into a popsicle.

I threw this soup together with ingredients I mostly had on hand. You can change things up according to what you have on hand too! Any short pasta would work in this soup, or you could use navy or northern beans in place of pasta. Peas or carrots might be nice additions as well. This is a good "clean out the pantry" type soup. Its also hearty enough to be a complete meal, as long as you serve it with crusty bread for dipping. In my mind, you have to have something to dip or dunk in your soup (crackers, bread, croutons, sandwich). I hope you enjoy this one, stay warm!

Chicken Tortellini Soup

• 4 cups of low sodium chicken stock
• 1-2 cups water (start with one and add more if needed to gain the desired consistency)
• 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1 can of corn
• 1 can of creamed corn
• 1/4C grated parmesan cheese
• 2T cornstarch
• 1 package of cheese tortellini
• 1/2t garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring stock and 1 cup of water to a simmer.
Add in garlic powder, salt, pepper, creamed corn, corn, and shredded chicken.
Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
Put 2T of cornstarch in a small bowl, ladle in some of the hot broth and stir until smooth.
Pour mixture into soup, and add tortellini and 1/4C parmesan cheese.
Allow to simmer another 10 minutes before serving. Add in more water if needed.
Note: You could throw this in the crock pot and let it simmer all day, just don't add the tortellini and parmesan cheese until the very end.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

I have always been a pumpkin lover, but its only been this year that I've started to become intrigued by its use in savory dishes. After my pumpkin mac and cheese flop (I haven't decided if its worth posting or not), I was a little hesitant to try this chili recipe. I made a few changes to the original recipe that came from the Whole Food's website, and much to my surprise it was absolutely delicious! If I hadn't told anyone, I don't think they would have known it was made with pumpkin. The pumpkin adds a unique flavor, but the chili doesn't actually taste like pumpkin. It disappeared so fast that I didn't even have time to get a photo! So, here is the photo from the Whole Food's website (this is me avoiding a copyright lawsuit) and its a much better photo than I ever could have taken!

I made this about a week in advance for our Halloween dinner and froze it in a gallon sized ziploc bag. I pulled it out and stuck it (still frozen) in the crock pot and let it simmer on low for 6-8 hours. You certainly don't have to let it cook this long, or use a crock pot at all. It is ready to eat after about 45 minutes of simmering, but cooking it longer certainly won't hurt! If anything it helps the flavors come together.

This was a super easy 'serve yourself' meal. I set out toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, jalapenos and baked up a batch of Jiffy Corn Muffins to go along with the chili. My (almost) mother-in-law let me in on the secret of adding one tablespoon of sugar to the corn muffin mix, and they turned out delicious! The whole meal was a hit. Don't be afraid of the pumpkin!

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 jalapeños, chopped (I leave the seeds in because we like the heat! If you don't, remove them before chopping.)
• 3T chopped garlic
• 1T olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes (and their juice)
• 1 pound ground turkey (either regular turkey or turkey sausage works well)
• 1 can beans of your choice (I used light kidney beans.)
• 1 can pumpkin
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2T chili powder
• 1t ground cumin
• 1t cinnamon
• 1C corn
• Salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

Saute peppers and garlic in olive oil in a large pot on medium heat.

Once they are tender, add turkey.

When turkey is cooked, add in pumpkin, diced tomatoes, beans, corn, chicken broth and all spices.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for at least 45 minutes.  

  

Adapted from: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/467