Soup Recipes – Another Healthy & Easy Alternative

Soups can actually make a healthy dish and are great in many aspects. Just by mixing the ingredients together you can actually make a delicious and nutritious dish with perfect combination of ordinary ingredients. The soups have many health benefits which can help us to treat various cold and flu ailments. It is always best to make them at home and do not go for canned soups which are often sold in grocery stores. The canned soups do not have any real benefits as these are treated with a lot of colorants, preservatives and fillers which are not good for your health.

Tortilla Soup Recipe

However, there is a lot more which we can actually think about making soups starting from scratch. I am going to share here one such a soup recipe called Tortilla Soup. This is a spicy and hearty soup dipped over by cheddar cheese and crispy tortilla strips.  Actually soup can be made chunky with chicken and avocado, but the tortillas give it a slight thickness.

Servings: 4

• 6 tablespoons cooking oil
• 8 6-inch corn tortillas, halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder, paprika & ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 quarts canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
• 3 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 28-ounce can)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup lightly-packed cilantro leaves plus 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
• 1 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/4 pound cheddar, grated
• Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Take a large heavy pot, then heat oil over moderately high heat. Add half the tortilla strips and cook them for about 1 minute while stirring continuously. Remove it over a slotted spoon and then drain it on paper towels. You can repeat it with the remaining tortilla strips.
2. You can reduce the heat to moderately low. Now add the onion, garlic, and spices; cook them while, stirring, for 5 minutes. You can now the broth, bay leaves, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, cilantro leaves to one-third of the tortilla strips. Bring it to a simmer and cook them, uncovered, for 30 minutes; remove the bay leaves.
3. Take a blender, puree the soup in batches; now pour it back into the pot. Add chicken, bring the soup back to a simmer for about 1 minute until it’s done. Stir in the avocado.
4. To serve, keep the remaining tortilla strips in bowls, then top with the cheese, and pour in the soup. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve with the lime wedges.

Source: foodandwine.com

Earlier also I had shared Soup Recipes – The goodness for 12 Months which contains recipe information about many different types of delicious and aromatic soups such as classic pumpkin soup, pureed sweet potato soup, French soup recipe etc. Try any one of them they are quite appetizing!