Mexican Vegetable Soup

If you took a quick glance at my most recent posts, you might think I’m all about sweets and chicken. While I’m not going to confirm or deny that may be true, I do make other recipes as well. You might even say somewhat healthy ones every once in a while too.  So for my vegetarian friends out there, I have not forsaken you. (Yes, I’m looking at you Sue T.!)

This soup recipe can be altered to whichever vegetables you have or that are in season. It is called vegetable soup afterall. I used what I had on hand. The flavor of the soup was reminiscent of a chicken tortilla soup without the chicken or tortillas. And be forewarned, this recipe makes a lot of servings (6-8) for you to share on a cold winter’s day.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 bell peppers, diced (I used 1/2  each of an orange, red and yellow bell peppers)
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons  ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 cups diced roma tomatoes
• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen or 1 can of corn)
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can (4 ounce) diced green chile peppers
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1-2 zucchinis,  sliced

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:

• avocado slices
• cilantro
• lime wedges or lime juice
• Mexican crema or sour cream
• shredded cheese
• tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.
2. Add bell peppers, carrots and onions to pot. Cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir occasionally.
3. Add in minced garlic, cumin and cayenne. Stir and cook for a minute.
4. Add in tomatoes, corn, black beans, diced green chiles and vegetable stock.
5. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil.
6. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Add in zucchini.
8. Re-cover and simmer for another 10 more minutes, or until the zucchini is tender.
9. Serve immediately with optional toppings. 

Mexican Cornbread Casserole

Happy Cinco de Mayo! This recipe is like a mash up of my Mexican Casserole and a tamale pie recipe I’ve tried in the past. And for my fellow home cooks who like quick recipes, the 35 minutes baking time is the longest you have to wait.  I love shortcuts, so if you do not have all the required spices in your cupboards you can also use a packet of taco seasoning. Since there is only two of us at home to eat this, I used half the meat and only one box of the Jiffy cornbread mix and an 8×8 baking pan. Otherwise I used the same amount of all the other ingredients. For my vegetarian friends, omit the ground beef and add pinto beans.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 (8.5 ounce) boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups grated Mexican cheese blend; separated into 1/2 cup and 1 cup
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can black beans (15 ounce)
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1 can (2.25 ounces) sliced black olives
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can (10 ounce) Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles
• 1 1/2 cup chunky salsa

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Meanwhile in a large bowl, prepare Jiffy cornbread mix by combining mix, eggs and milk. Stir well then add 1/2 cup grated Mexican cheese blend. Set aside. (If you like some extra spice, add a small can of diced green chilies to the cornbread mixture.)
2. In a skillet add olive oil and cook ground beef over medium high heat until cooked through. Drain any grease. Add onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until onions are tender.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the meat mixture in skillet. Mix well and remove from heat.
4. In a 9X13 baking pan, add meat and vegetable mixture. Top with 1 cup grated Mexican blend cheese.
5. Add prepared cornbread mixture on top of cheese layer. Be sure to spread out evenly.
6. Bake in oven for 33-35 minutes or until cornbread turns golden.  Enjoy with your favorite beverage.

Zucchini and Corn Chowder

It’s another gray and cloudy day here. So I decided to make  some zucchini and corn chowder to warm up my belly. I also needed something to blog this week, so two birds, one stone kind of deal. For my vegetarian friends out there, substitute vegetable broth and omit the bacon pieces.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 zucchini, chopped
• 2 cups corn kernels
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese, freshly grated for garnish
• Fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. About 6-8 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in the same stockpot and add onion, carrots, celery, potatoes and garlic. Cook until tender about 3-4 minutes.
3. Stir in dried thyme, basil, and rosemary cook until fragrant about 1 minute.
4. Whisk in flour until lightly browned. About 1 minute.
5. Add in chicken stock, milk bay leaf, zucchini and corn.
6. Cook stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and bring to a simmer.
8. Simmer for about 7-8 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
9. Remove the bay leaf. If the chowder is too thick for your liking, add a little more milk to thin out.
10. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with bacon pieces, grated Parmesan cheese and parsley leaves.