Tortilla Soup & Cheese Quesadillas

Food Category: High-5, Bum Lovin', PG-13
Difficulty: Easy

Tortilla Soup

sautee onion, celery, tri-colored peppers & sliced carrots until tender crisp
add chicken broth (homemade, canned or flavor granules)
bring to a boil & add remaining ingredients, your choice as to which ones & how much:

• zucchini & yellow squash
• beans (pinto, black, kidney)
• corn (canned or frozen)
• green chiles (to taste, remember they are flavorful)
• crushed or diced tomatoes (or Rotel if you skip the chiles)
• leftover peas, green beans & mashed potatoes work well with this soup too
• leftover fajita meat & chopped up grilled veggies
• leftover chicken or turkey

seasonings/spices:

2 cloves of freshed minced garlic
cumin
chili powder
roasted red pepper seasoning
Sazón (1-2 packets)
salt/pepper
onion & garlic powder
envelope of taco seasoning if you don't have the other stuff in your kitchen

Cook the soup on low until veggies look good to you. You may also finish this up in the crockpot.

I usually make this soup broth-based to keep the calories down. The beans add the most calories, but it's all good carbs & fiber. You can add cheese/velveeta to the soup based on personal preference. Leftover fridge/frozen mashed potatoes thicken up the soup, but with added calories.

When serving the soup, top with crushed tortilla chips (like Tostitos), shredded cheese (we like cheddar & pepper jack), sour cream & fresh cilantro. Certainly, the toppings add lots of flavor, but pack quite the punch to the fat/calorie content (thus the PG-13 rating). You have been warned.

I'm making a double batch of this soup to cover us for dinner tonight & a Mexican Potluck tomorrow. Soups are usually better the next day, so it's not like the Potluck people are getting the scraps. I'll just reheat in the crockpot.

Cheese Quesadillas

Laze-E won't touch my soup & Man will want something more Manly.

These will be simple quesadillas, only slightly more difficult than nuking the flour tortilla & cheese. Spray tortilla with olive oil & heat on a med-hot skillet. Flip, add cheese, fold over. Flip to the other side and serve.

Leftover potential: This soup does well in the fridge & freezer. The most flavorful way to reheat quesadillas is by wrapping in foil and tossing in a toaster oven. Microwave works too, but only use half-power.