Saturday, July 11, 2009

Summer Tex Mex Vegetable Soup

Would I sound like a broken record if I told you that my sister just had a baby? Well, it's true. My youngest sister, the ever charming Mary Kate, just gave birth to a darling little baby boy. I don't have a single pregnant sister left, uh, that I'm aware of anyway; I'll keep you posted if I hear otherwise. I've been up in Salt Lake City with Mary Kate, trying to be a sisterly helper, since her husband had to be out of town for a few days on business. Only I think I failed. I really didn't help her with the baby at all. Her other son, the two year old Jakers, took such a liking to me that I was completely wrapped up with him. He slept on my pillow, followed me into the bathroom, brushed my hair, confiscated my bracelets and yellow flower sandals, made sure I watched INTENTLy all of his tricks including light saber fighting, ball kicking, piano playing and dancing, and generally delighted me in every way. I'm home now and I dearly miss my rough and tumble little buddy. What will I do without him?
I had planned to post this soup while I was away, but that same two year old Jakers has cheerfully plucked the W E R T S D V C H L K and : " and BACKSPACE keys clean off of my sister's laptop. I tried typing, really I did. I just couldn't remember how to type with the keys gone. My fingers knew where to go, but when they touched the little round bump where the key should be, I just couldn't help but stop and then have to readjust again. I couldn't even get the title of this soup out without typing the needed Es Rs Ts and Ss. Besides, who knows what little Jakers could have gotten into while I was typing this post? He reminds me a lot of Peter Rabbit, that mischievous little rabbit who broke into Mr. MacGregor's garden. And speaking of gardens, let's move onto my vegetable soup. I absolutely adore this one.
If the green beans are ready in your gardens, then this is the soup for you. If not, it would be worth it to pilfer a few from the vines of your neighbors, or even pay for a few at the farmer's market if necessary. I absolutely love the zesty whole some flavors and the thick broth. It's even better the next day, if you can manage to save a little aside. The secret to the hearty broth is a little bit of pureed brown rice. I honestly think I'll be making this one at least twice a week throughout the summer. Have a great weekend everybody!
Money Saving Tips:
I used granulated chicken bouillion in this highly flavored soup with good results. If you have garden tomatoes, peel and cook them in place of the canned. Cut the corn off cobs if you've grown your own. I used minute brown rice in the soup, but leftover cooked brown rice would be even cheaper. Use any beans in place of the kidney.
Summer Tex Mex Vegetable Soup
Estimated Cost: $5.00
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
about 5 cups chicken broth (or 5 cups water with 5 teaspoons granulated bouillion)
1/2 cup Minute Brown Rice
1 and 1/2 cups corn kernels
1 and 1/2 cups green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Heat oil over medium high heat in large pot. Add garlic and onion and saute until softened,about eight minutes. Add chili powder and cumin and cook for thirty seconds. Add tomatoes, broth, and rice. Simmer for about ten minutes, or until rice is softened. Transfer mixture to blender, or use immersion blender, to puree mixture until almost smooth. You should have a slightly thick, slightly chunky broth. Add corn, green beans, and kidney beans. Simmer until green beans are tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro.
Serve with tortilla strips. cheese, sour cream and more cilantro if desired.
Up Next:
Blackberry Raspberry Crisp

19 comments:

Dakotapam said...

That looks delish! And I have some leftover brown rice. I love soup! love it love it love it! So I may have to make some.

Oh, and my guess is that by getting wrapped up with Jakers, you helped sweet Mary Kate more than you can know.

I'll be your pregnant sister if you will come cook for me...just no Cinnamon muffins! Thanks!

Janet S. said...

I've been enjoying your recipes, but wonder if there's any chance you could add the number of servings, by whatever measure you wish to use. That would be very helpful!

Prudy said...

Janet:
Good idea. Sometimes it's hard to calculate, especially when we often go back for double helpings, but I commit to doing better! For this soup, I'm guessing about 6 starter servings. Hope you like it!

Prudy said...

Dakota Pam:
Thanks for making me laugh! I had to stop and think about the cinnamon for a minute and then I burst out laughing. I'm sure I'd love to have you as a pregnant sister!

Catherine said...

This soup looks delicious. And I love hearing all your stories about Jakers. I'm glad he loved you so much. The little boys love Aunty Prudy!

As for this soup, it looks so delicious. I can't wait to make it! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm...this sounds absolutely delish! And it might be a way to get some veggies into my 12 year old son, Kevin, from Fairport, too!

BTW, I made your Focaccia Bread (old post) two times in the past three days...love, love, love it! So easy in my breadmaker for the mixing, too. Lynn and Kevin can't get enough! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued inspirations!

Stacy Hoover said...

It sounds like you were a great help, even if it wasn't with the baby. Your sister is very lucky to have you!

The soup looks delicious! I think that is going on my menu planning for this week! Thanks for sharing!

LC said...

This looks fabulous! I just stumbled across your blog & I LOVE IT! Your philosophy on shopping absolutely mirrors my own. I always found groceries to be the easiest way to save $$. That way i could "ahem" splurge on other things : ) You have found yourself a faithful follower!

MK and Co. said...

I must leave you a comment and thank you even though I am missing so many letters off my laptop!
You were such a wonderful help and delightful company for the kids and me. I'm sorry the youngest two were constantly trying to sit on your lap or demanding your attention in some way or other. You were so kind and helpful. I would never have been able to do that without you! Thank you so much for coming up and helping your little sister!

Dakotapam said...

I made the soup...and it was fabulous! I added even more rice at the end, because I had a bunch leftover...and I want to say this could easily serve 10 or so...even my kids liked it...I think blending the tomatoes helped!

The JR said...

Looks good, congrats on the newest baby. Jakers is probably missing you too.

Ramona

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

All those new babies in the family sound so exciting! Tex Mex is one of my favorites and this looks simply scrumptious!

Marjie said...

No baby pictures? I never expected that! Soup is a great anytime meal with bread and salad, and yours looks nice!

Sophie said...

I am a big fan of enjoying a bowl of soup year-around, this looks super tasty :).

Anonymous said...

Hey-I've been stuck watching Food Network while nursing full-time, and I swear you belong on the show or something like unto it.
When you were on the Rachael Ray show you were so perfect, and your photos are all so beautiful, and your writing is so fun. You name it, I think you could be it....food stylist, food writer, food critic, TV food show.
I guess until you are discovered, I should just enjoy all these great recipes. Will try soup soon. :)
Thanks and cheers for the your future food network show :).

Adrienne said...

I am totally making this right now! Except I'll try garbanzo beans instead of rice. Don't have any cooked on hand. Wish me luck.

Adrienne said...

OK it's all made and devoured and cleaned up. The liquified garbanzo beans added a good flavor but as the soup sat in the pot during dinner it kind of separated into broth and bean particles. No one else noticed, but it's worth noting. I also threw in about 3/4 pound sweet/spicy chicken we had left over. I think we made 2.5 quarts of soup for about 2 bucks.

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