TACO SOUP

 I don't know where you live, but here in the midwest (Kansas City, Missouri) we are being truly blessed with a mild winter. It is February 7 as I am writing this and outside it is 51 degrees F with little wind, some thin clouds and plenty of sun shining. Yesterday it was 70 degrees, a tie from 1904 for the high temperature. Tomorrow evening we have rain in the forecast - not snow - but rain. I can't complain but I do feel for the northeast that I think is going to be getting the white stuff.

Sunday at Roxanne's Cafe where we often go after church on Sunday for a meal, Wayne got their taco soup. Other than maybe having some shredded cheese on it, he said it tasted pretty good. I checked it out in his bowl looking to see what was in it and then told him I could make him some this week. 

I had decided what I was going to put in it and bought the missing ingredients on Monday. This morning I remembered that our younger son Patrick makes taco soup so I checked with him regarding the ingredients he uses. He uses black beans and pinto beans, but I didn't have any pinto beans so I just added another can of black beans. He also adds a can of rotel, but I didn't have that either so Wayne suggested some mild salsa that we also got on Monday. I used ground turkey, but you could obviously use ground beef.

It was one of those throw some ingredients together, no written recipe, but Wayne was really pleased with my end results and was very thankful. I know he ate two bowls. (I went to Whataburger and got me a cheeseburger. I brought it home and really enjoyed it.)

PRINT recipe.

TACO SOUP

1      lb ground turkey or beef 

1      (1.25 oz) taco seasoning mix

1      (6 oz) can tomato paste

1      (14.5 oz) can diced tomato

1      (15.25 oz) can of whole kernel corn (drained)

2       (15 oz each) cans of black beans

1       (32 oz) container beef broth

1        teaspoon minced garlic

2        tablespoons minced onion

2        cups salsa 

shredded cheese and chips

Cook the ground meat in a large pot until done. Add the taco seasoning, tomato paste, tomatoes,

corn, black beans,

onion, garlic, and salsa.

Bring to a boil and then simmer until the soup is heated thoroughly and ready to serve.

I cooked mine probably 30 minutes.

Spoon soup in serving bowls,

sprinkle cheese on top and then

add chips.

 

SIMPLE CHICKEN/TURKEY SOUP

 Friday morning we attended the dedication ceremony of our newly opened library about a mile from us. We are really fortunate in Kansas City and the surrounding area to have a library system called the Mid-Continent Public Library that covers three counties - Platte, Clay, and Jackson counties. The city limits of Kansas City is in all three counties but the library system covers many more cities in these three counties. 

The library near us was thirty years old and needed updating and enlarged so after voters approved tax money to build a newer, considerably larger state-of-the-arts library a mile or two away and right down the road from us. Green Hills Library Center is the result. The Culinary Center is the only one in the region and will open next year. It is going to be really spectacular. I am so looking forward to it. At the bottom of this post I will share some pictures of my first visit with grandkids Madison and Tyler. They were so excited about going as they watched it being built every time we drove past it this year.

We ran an errand to Menards afterwards and then went home to make some turkey soup with the leftover turkey from our belated Thanksgiving. Wayne immediately started looking for a recipe but I stopped him with, "Wait! I have a recipe I recently found that I wanted to try."

Finding the recipe our turkey noodle soup became a chicken soup using turkey instead of chicken. I had started cooking some rotini to use in place of the noodles but then changed my mind when I read the recipe and saw the ingredients especially the mixed vegetables. (I told Wayne he could just eat them with some butter.) 

Jump to the end by the time the soup was finished I had dished out some for him and added the cooked pasta. So the simple chicken soup turned into still a simple recipe but not exactly what the recipe intended. BUT it is very delicious. AND the little bit of turkey we had leftover after a couple of cold turkey sandwiches made us meals for several days.

PRINT RECIPE.

SIMPLE CHICKEN/TURKEY SOUP

2     cans (14.5 ounces each) chicken broth. (I made my own broth using chicken bouillon cubes and hot water) 

1     tablespoon dried minced onion

1     package frozen mixed vegetables

2     cups cubed cooked chicken breast or turkey

2     cans (10 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (low sodium)

1     teaspoon Nature Seasons

In a large saucepan, bring the broth and onion to a boil. Reduce heat.

Add the vegetables; cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Stir in the chicken or turkey and soup;

add seasoning

heat through.

I cooked 1 cup of chickpea rotini and

added it to some of the soup and then

added the rest of the soup to it. The turkey I used was smoked turkey our son Patrick made for our Thanksgiving so it gave the soup an extra yummy taste to it. 

At the dedication we learned that the fork outside the front of the library is the fifth largest fork on display in the nation.

Cups hanging over the "cafe" which is opening in January. 

The kids found books and they wanted to read them to me. I'M MY OWN DOG by David Ezra Stein was the cutest book and I would highly recommend it. It is told from the dog's point of view.

GOOD INTENTIONS & POTATO SOUP

I had such good intentions to get a post written last night (Monday) but was unable to move all evening because I had two cats also known as Charlie and Parker, laying in my lap. I am hoping I can complete my good intentions tonight. Wayne is sitting with them on the room upstairs that we added onto the house that we call the back porch. He said if they came down and bothered me, we could shut them up on the back porch. So far, so good. 

This morning (Tuesday) I got up with some more good intentions ... getting back to the Y and walking on the Lazy River. I have been staying away from the Y for several months because of the virus, but I realize I am suffering because of it. I had decided to go last Monday but after seeing the weather forecast for the week, I decided to wait until this week. They were forecasting 2 - 5 inches of snow early Wednesday morning so I figured I wouldn't be able to get back to the Y. (I planned to go M, W, & F) We only got 2 inches but school closed and I might have had trouble getting there anyway.)

So I guilted myself into going this morning since that is what I said I would do. I didn't get their quite as early as I had wanted, but it was okay. When I walked into the pool area, a water aerobics' class was taking place but not one was in the Lazy River and then I noticed the closed sign. The life guard said it would open in 45 minutes at 10:30. 

Well, so much for good intentions. Since I was there though I decided to at least walk a 20-minute mile. As I was leaving I asked about the schedule for the Lazy River. On Monday thru Thursday it is open from 10:30 to 1 and on Friday it is open from 11 to 1 unless they don't have a life guard.

After  getting home, I realized my yogurt for breakfast wasn't enough. Thinking what we could eat, I remembered another good intention I had had last week and got busy preparing this awesome Potato Soup that I never got around to making last week.

I've never really eating Potato Soup even though I wanted to because of the onions people put in them. I don't like the taste or smell of raw onions and are bothered by them even cooked in some foods. It always pleases Wayne when I make something new and add the onions for him. I either take out some for me before adding the onions or I just don't eat it. I left them out in this soup. 

POTATO SOUP

cubed potatoes, cut into quarters

diced onion, if you like

diced carrots (I used 2 carrots, about 3/4 cup)

chopped celery (I used 2 stalks, about a heaping 3/4 cup)

2    chicken bullion cutes

1    can cream style corn

1    cup of milk

1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup)

shredded cheese (I used only about 1 cup of a mixture of shredded cheese because Wayne doesn't like cheesy soups)

1/3  cup instant potato flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

I also added about 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary and thyme leaves and dried parsley flakes.

Quarter potatoes and add to pot. I think I used 7 or 8 red potatoes. It was enough to cover the bottom of the soup pot.

Slice carrots and add them.

Slice celery and add.

Fill pot with just enough water to cover the veggies to cook.  Add the bullion cubes Cook until veggies are done, about 30 minutes. Make sure potato chunks are covered with water.

I used a plastic slotted spoon to lift the cooked potatoes out and cut them in smaller pieces. 

Add corn,

milk,

cheese,

butter, and

whatever spices you are using.

When heated, stir in instant potatoes.

Sprinkle with dried parsley, if you like. Keep warm on low heat until ready to serve.

I sprinkled a little more cheese to my bowl when ready to eat.

Here are some pictures of Charlie (red collar) and Parker (blue collar).

Charlie liked the little girls singing at the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.

Charlie finds the strangest places to sleep. Look closely at the picture. He is that hump under the coverlet. Wonder how he breathes.

Charlie sleeping in his bed.

Parker asleep on my lap.

Both asleep on their "tree"

I guess you get the picture...they sleep a lot.

But here is one of my favorite pictures. They pose so well.

CHICKEN RICE SOUP

As winter has finally come to the midwest, you can expect soup recipes from me. The Brunswick Stew I made and shared earlier hasn't seen much traffic. That's really too bad because it was so good. I had never made Brunswick Stew but it was easy and I was surprised how good it tasted. 

This time I decided to make Chicken Rice Soup using brown rice. I cooked too much chicken so I had chicken ready for my next recipe. I found the recipe when I was going through some Taste of Home magazines that were about 15 years old. I followed the recipe and only used 1/c cup uncooked rice but it wasn't enough. We ate the soup the first time, but then I cooked a cup of rice and added it to the pot. Some might think it was too much rice, but we liked it. I would definitely cook 1 cup of rice for the recipe.

CHICKEN RICE SOUP

3       quarts water

3       lbs chicken breast halves

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4    teaspoon pepper

1/4    teaspoon poultry seasoning

1       teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (I used 2 bouillon cubes)

3       medium carrots, chopped

2      celery ribs, chopped

1      cup uncooked long grain rice (I used brown rice.)

1      small onion, chopped.

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, place water, chicken, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 - 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.

With a slotted spoon, remove chicken from broth.

When cool enough to handle, shred or cut chicken into bite-size pieces.

Return the chicken to the broth and

add remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 - 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender. As I said above,

I cooked 1 cup of additional rice and then added it to the pot.

A bowl with just 1/2 cup of uncooked rice used...

and a bowl with 1-1/2 cups of rice used.