Guest Blog: hubby cooks Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Cooking with Gabby many years ago!

Wifey kindly asked me to guest blog here on my soup I made last night so here we go!  A little while ago I was inspired by a friend who is nearly a vegan (she can't give up chocolate!) and the health benefits of vegetarianism to check into recipes and find out if there are tasty meals I can make without meat.  I checked out a few books from the library and most of the meals sounded like side dishes or had ingredients I couldn't even picture in my head let alone ones I could predict what they would taste like combined.  Finally I stumbled across Betty Crocker's Easy Everyday Vegetarian.  I've always been a fan of Betty Crocker recipes, and as I paged through this book I found meals that sounded filling and delicious.  We've already tried the slow cooker lasagna (easy and turned out GREAT!) but this recipe for the tortilla soup REALLY hit the spot today.  It was bone chillingly cold today and I was really needing warmed up from the inside out so a nice hot meal that had some zing to it sure sounded great this morning.  So without further adieu, here is how to warm up on a cold day, tortilla style!

You will need:
3 tsp vegetable oil
4 corn tortillas (or I just used tortilla chips)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans (14oz each) vegetable broth
1 can (10 oz) chopped tomatoes and chilies, undrained (I think this is where some of the heat comes from)
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (I used cilantro because I love the way Chipotle's rice tastes)

1. In a 2-quarts saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil over med-high heat.  cut the tortillas into strips and cook them for about half a minute until crisp and golden brown.  remove and drain on paper towels.  (I skipped this step and just used tortilla chips)
2. In the saucepan you just used, add the remaining teaspoon of veggie oil and cook the chopped onion until tender
3. stir in the broth and tomatoes.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes
4. stir in lime juice and cilantro.  Be careful with cilantro...it add some zing!

We added cheese and sour cream and served along with some cheese quesadillas for a delicious and hearty winter meal.

check out this recipe and LOTS more in the Easy Everyday Vegetarian.  LOVE IT!