Southwestern Tortilla Soup
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (15 ounce) can tomatoes and green chiles (or 1 1/2 cups fresh tomato and pepper)
1 (15 ounce) can refried beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans (or 1 1/2 cups fresh)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chli powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh cilantro, to taste
fresh lime juice, to taste
tortilla chips, to serve
1. In a soup pot over medium high heat, cook the onions, garlic, and bell pepper in the olive oil. Cook about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften.
2. Then, dump everything else in up to the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer about 15 more minutes.
3. Garnish with the fresh cilantro and lime juice. Crush a handful of tortilla chips over the top. This would also be good with a dollop of vegan sour cream over everything.
Source of recipe: This is a conglomeration of many old recipes, some from Taste of Home, all mashed together, then made vegan.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This is really really good and super easy to throw together. I added a can of tomato soup and a half a teaspoon of cocoa powder. The color wasnt rich enough is why I added those things, the taste was fine but I just wanted a darker color. It is so good topped with chips and homemade guacamole.
I just made this again using spinach instead of bell pepper, because I had a surplus of fresh spinach from the CSA and my daughter HATES bell peppers. It's pretty good, although I think I prefer the bell pepper version. Regardless, my daughter loves it. She is already asking me to make it again and is still eating her first serving. She just picked the beans and corn out last time. I think green beans, especially the flat ones, would work well in this too.
This was quite yummy. I did add a small can of tomato sauce, because it didn't look red enough. I also omitted the cayenne, because I wanted my daughter to eat it too, and it was still what most people would consider medium in heat. I would have never thought of using refried beans in soup. This will be a regular menu item here I think.