You Can Take The Girl Out of Texas ...

and she won't really mind, although she will miss the food. Okay, enough of the third-person douche-baggery. But I am making a "tex-mex" chicken soup, which is essentially tortilla soup minus the tortilla strips (though you should totally add those if that's your thing). Also, I'd like to give a special thanks to Emma for hosting me most-of-the-summer long, and her kitchen, which is way bigger and more beautiful than mine.

(I left this page open while I was cooking so I could write down anything that came to me and wouldn't forget it. This isn't relevant to anything, but Pandora just tried to play Creed on one of my stations. Who does that, Pandora?)

Tortilla(-less) Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light.

olive oil (enough to coat the giant pot you should be using)
1/4-1/2 of an onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, minced*
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
shredded chicken**
1-2 bag(s) frozen kernel corn
4 cups chicken broth
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained (and rinsed if you care)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
cheddar cheese
lime wedges

* If you like you're shit extra spicy, just mince. If you prefer it mild, make sure you seed these guys too.
** Use as much or as little as you like. The original recipe calls for 3 cups, but I just bought a package of raw chicken tenders, boiled them w/ the juice of half a lime, and called it a day. People like to get all butt-hurt over boiled chicken but truthfully, if you don't overcook it, it's one of the easiest ways to end up with moist, cooked chicken.

Coat your cooking vessel in olive oil and heat it up. Add onions, garlic, red pepper, and jalapeno. Let this saute for at least 3 minutes, or until you've gathered up all your spices.

Now, take those spices, throw them in the pot. Bam! (If you will.) Stir it up and let it sit for 30-ish seconds. Add chicken and everything else up until black beans (but add those too). Bring this to a boil and then reduce heat and allow your almost-soup to simmer for 6 or so minutes.

Add cheese and cilantro. Serve with a lime wedge.

Notes

• Because I tend to be as lazy as possible without truly fucking something up, I left about 1/2 of the jalapeno seeds in the jalapeno mince. Bad idea. If you end up making a similar mistake, add a dollop of greek yogurt or sour cream. It will temper the heat and make your soup edible again.
• Since this is cooking and not baking, all of the ingredients are pretty much optional and flexible. The only thing you probably have to have is the chicken broth (though if you're going the vegetarian route, you can use that ass-tasting vegetable broth stores sell). Speaking of which, chicken is optional. Veggies are interchangeable. Have fun. Go nuts.
• Upon investigation, I realized I say "go nuts" a lot. Deal with it.
• I don't know if I've written up enough recipes with corn in them for you to notice, but pretty much any recipe that involves corn ends up as the corn-version of that recipe. I used 2 whole bags of frozen corn in this soup, so it might be more appropriately labeled "Corn-and-Chicken Soup." You're fine with 1 bag unless you love corn as much as I do.
• Speaking of love: cheese. Original recipe says to use queso fresco but that's harder to get on the east coast than it is on the Juarez border so, you know, cheddar. As per usual, use whatever amount your fat-kid-little-heart desires (mine desires an entire block).

Cost

• I lost my receipt but I'm not apologizing this time. Why? Because I dug through the trash to try to find it. The old banana peel, dog fur-laden trash. For YOU. Yeah, now you're hungry.
• If you use 3 oz of cheese, and keep each serving size to 1 cup, you're looking at 186 calories. Not bad.

With Much Love and Apologies

Hello! I know it's been ages - close to a year - without a post. I can do nothing about that now except apologize and promise to try to make it somewhat up to you over the next two-ish months. I am on a sort-of break from medical school (they are rare and precious) and want to tell you about some wonderful things I've been cooking and think you should cook too.

If anyone still reads this - and I doubt that - know that you are appreciated. And will soon be rewarded with a low-cal chicken tortilla soup recipe. In the meantime, thank you for coming back. Apparently medical school really is as time-consuming as they say it is, and then some.

Love,
K.