Wednesday's Soup

I planned on having leftovers from yesterday's great soup but then thought...I cant really do the same soup back to back so soon.  Gotta have variety right?  Plus it didn't help that Hubby said it was the best soup he's ever had in his life and had seconds and then later in the evening had more.  I had plans (which didn't quite pan out) on having some for lunch today so....so much for left overs....but lets not dwell on the past and move on to today's soup shall we?  But it really was delicious!!!  Lol

Todays soup was a Tortilla Soup/Mexican Gumbo.  I actually got the idea from Q'doba and had been saying for some time that I would try to make it.  Today was the day.  My father in law (amazing cook by the way) makes a Chicken chili and before we gave up meat we used to LOVE it.  The Tortilla soup somewhat reminds me of his Chicken Chili but not anywhere near as good.  I should have used his recipe and left out the chicken.  That'll be one of my later recipes.

Soup simmerrng

Finished meal...told ya there would be fruit today

Topped with Vegan Cheese (Daiya)

The soup consisted of a vegetable/tomato base, black beans, green chili's, rice and corn.  It was seasoned with Chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic, onion, oregano, cilantro salt and cayenne pepper.  Another easy one pot soup/meal.  I actually ended up adding a green chili sauce to it that I didn't particularly care for, but that's what I get for always trying to do something that's not called for in the recipe.  It was OK.  The family liked it and I would do it again...definitely without adding the green chili of course.

I'm not going to pretend I shucked corn, ground corn or soaked beans overnight.  I took the easy way out and did canned black beans and the corn that you steam in the bag.  I did cut up all the veggies (you know how I love that) and added fresh cilantro.  It was a long day and I didn't have the desire to spend hours in the kitchen so I did what would save me the most time.

We did fruit like I promised but I threw in the tortilla chips which is just as bad as doing bread.  Lol  I only ate a few... but they're really good.  Tostitos makes these really good Artisian tortilla chips...we had the black bean but they also have a fire roasted chipotle that I really love as well.

So that was it.  Nothing as great as yesterdays soup, which I didn't happen to have for lunch today but tomorrow I'll definitely be having it.  Lol.

Happy Humpday people!!!!  Enjoy the remainder of your week and Peace and Blessings.

Vegan Mushroom Soup

So I'm thinking today is officially day one of the 30 day soup and salad challenge.  Even though I've done a few soups this month today is the day I decided I'm going to commit to it.  Flipping through the pages of the Soup recipe book I found a number of recipes that I'm actually really looking forward to trying.  Some recipes gave me creative ideas of my own that I'm a little anxious about trying also.  Let's just cross our fingers and hope that they turn out as well as todays soup. The family loved it and I've got a few finicky eaters so that made me happy.

So the soup of the day for Monday was Mushroom Soup with Caesar Salad.  Since I learned how to make the dressing I've been stuck on this salad our last few meals.  I'm thinking I may have to retire it temporarily so that we don't get burned out on it.

The mushroom soup was probably the easiest I've made so far.  It was about 10 to 15 minutes to prep and 20-30 to cook.  I did let the soup simmer a little longer than the recipe suggested though, but thats just me.  All I had to do was mince the mushrooms and green onions, saute them and then combine everything else.  Viola!!! Pretty simple right?  The down side is that you can't (well you can, but I myself find it difficult to) have soup and NOT have bread.  So ciabatta rolls it was. So much for my goal to stay away from bread right?  I guess I'll just gradually wean myself.

All in all I consider this a pretty healthy and very tasty meal.  We'll definitely be having this one again.  SOON!  Lol.  Definitely give this a try if you're a mushroom fan.  The only thing I'd probably do differently next time is probably mince the mushrooms a little more so that its not as chunky, although Hubby enjoyed it the way it was.  If you'd like the recipe let me know, I'm always willing to share.  Stay tuned for tomorrows soup.

Peace and Blessings!!!!