"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." ~George Bernard Shaw

"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time." ~Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn


Thursday, April 22, 2021

2021 A to Z Challenge and Feline Friday!!!! April 23, 2021

Thanks to Sandee we have Feline Friday!

Our dear sweet Catalina cats !
Back in 2014 we spent several weeks in Zihuatenejo!
We had such a sweet time with their cats.
Have a lovely weekend!
And once again....here's today's soup!



Tortilla Soup

A traditional Mexican dish, tortilla soup is a spicy blend of tomatoes, vegetables, and crisp tortilla strips. This is an easy plant-powered version that you can whip it up in no time. Best of all, this dish relies on preserved goods, such as canned tomatoes, frozen corn, and canned beans, so you can make it year-round from your pantry. And it’s a great complement for a simple sandwich, burrito, or vegetable salad for lunch or dinner. 
Ingredients:
For the tortilla strips:
3 six-inch corn tortillas, 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil and 1/2 tsp chili powder
For the soup:
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 small jalapeño pepper, finely diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
4 cups water
1 tablespoon reduced sodium vegetable broth base
2 fourteen ounce cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 fifteen-ounce can black beans, with liquid or substitute cooked or canned white beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, or kidney beans for black beans, or use a combination.
2/3 cups plant-based cheese, optional
2/3 cups green onions, white and green parts, chopped
Directions:
For the tortilla strips:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice the tortillas into thin strips. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, then sprinkle the chili powder on top. Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes, until brown and crisp. Remove from oven and set aside. Turn off the oven. 
For the soup:
Meanwhile, prepare the soup by heating the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bell pepper, jalapeño, zucchini, corn, crushed red pepper, and cumin and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the water, broth base, tomatoes, and black beans. Stir well and cover. Simmer over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Ladle about 1 cup of soup into soup bowls, and garnish with a few tortilla strips, 1 tablespoon of plant-based cheese, and 1 tablespoon green onions. Serve immediately.
Thanks everyone for all your lovely comments!
I will be responding to all of them by tomorrow!
I promise! xoxoxo
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13 comments:

  1. Aww! they are cute :-)

    Now that soup looks interesting never had that before :-)

    Have a soupertastic slurpy weeknd Kathe 👍

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  2. They are lovely cats. The name Zihuatenejo brought back memories. It was our second cruise in the Caribbean and we made a transit of the Panama Canal then stops along the coast of Mexico ending at LA.
    Our stay in Acapulco should have been an overnight and we made our first visit to Senor Frog's. Crazy!! Then the hurricane came and we had to stay another night. We did make other stops but had to miss Cabo San Lucas due to hurricane damage. We heard after that quite a few people lost their lives in Acapulco during the hurricane. The picture I still vividly remember is going ashore the last day when the weather had calmed was the brown river rushing down one of the streets carrying so much debris with it. So sad.
    This is the second time already this morning I have made a far too long comment. I am sorry but I do get carried away.

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  3. Three dapper looking cats.
    Have a good weekend!

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  4. I hope you get to vacation there again and soon. Adorable kitties. Kitties are so fun to be around.

    Oh the soup. I love tortilla soup. Yummy. You know how to make great soups.

    Thank you for joining the Feline Friday Blog Hop.

    Have a purrfect Feline Friday and weekend. Big hug to you both and lots of scritches to the boss, Miss Lucy. ♥♥♥

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  5. Those kitties sure are cute and that soup is a winner, another good one!

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  6. Looks tasty. Thank you for the recipe.

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  7. Oh MY CATS a trio of Tuxies and tantalizing soup
    Hugs Cecilia

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  8. I love cats AND tortilla soup - will certainly try this recipe. Thanks!

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  9. Such lovely cats, and that soup sounds good and easy.

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  10. Cool Cats! And we LOVE tortilla soup...or we did until my son found out he is allergic to tomatoes. I would LOVE to try this recipe...maybe when we have company.

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  11. I love Tortilla SOup. Had an increbile recipe tried to remake it not the same. I just do not know what I did differently. Eva Longoria owns a restaurant specializing in Mexican dishes and her recipe is close to my original one. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Kathe,

    This is a soup I've wanted to make but haven't. I really don't make many soups. I'm more into home-made chilly than anything but I'm going to have to try this one.

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I love comments and will attempt to reply to each one. However, lately I have been getting "Unknown" comments that are linked to some sort of web page. I will never open this sort of comment and will immediately mark as spam. I am not interested in opening something that could be detrimental to my blog security etc. Never have enjoyed hackers! Thanks!