The BEST Tortilla Soup

This recipe is great for entertaining! Relatively simple and kids love it, too.

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 heaping T. sliced jalapenos or 3 small whole jalapenos, seeds removed, if possible (handle with gloves)

One very large handful of fresh cilantro, rinsed to remove sand and debris

15 to 28 ounce can of tomatoes

1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped

6 cups GF chicken broth

½ t. cumin

Salt to taste

3-4 diced or thinly sliced carrots

1½ cups frozen corn (I prefer white shoe peg or mixture of yellow and white)

15 ounce can of hominy (pozole), drained

2 T. fresh squeezed lime juice

3-4 cups chicken (breast preferred), cooked and chopped

Puree first five ingredients in blender or food processor (or place all in soup pot and blend with and immersible wand blender; this saves on dirty dishes and TIME!). Pour pureed mixture into large soup pot, now adding next three ingredients (broth, seasonings, etc.)

Add cut carrots. Allow this mixture to simmer over low heat for 30 minutes or more.

Add the final ingredients (corn, hominy, lime juice and green chile, if using). Gently fold in cooked chicken.

Allow soup to simmer approximately 20 more minutes. While waiting for the flavors to blend, assemble  your toppings.

Toppings for soup: Grated Colby-jack, pepper-jack, or cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, lime wedges, black beans, chopped chipotle chilies (if canned, check for gluten in the ingredients), chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green chiles, chopped avocado, chopped black olives, sour cream or Mexican cream, salsa and a large bowl of crushed corn chips (required!).  

"HOT" suggestion!: Use this wonderful new GF product as your corn chip topping. T. Marzetti Company's New York original "Texas Toast" Tortilla Strips in "Chipotle Cheddar" flavor. Available at select Walmarts.

When soup is ready to serve, top with your favorite condiments and enjoy!

Makes: Approximately 12 cups or three quarts or more of soup.

This recipe is from my cookbook: "Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free and Wheat Free Cooking. It is available at:   

http://www.celiacdiseaseinfo.org

http://www.amazon.com/Delicious-Cooking-Collection-Celiacs-Sensitive/dp/0615305709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282852260&sr=1-

Lemon & Poppyseed Muffins

At less than 180 calories per muffin, these low sugar, high protein,low fat muffins are healthy, wholesome, and moist and chewy with a tangy melt-in-your mouth burst of lemon.

1½ cups GF flour blend

1½ cups almond meal*

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 lemon, zested

2 cups zucchini, finely grated, strained over paper towels, and loosely packed

3 eggs

½ cup sugar**

2 T. poppy seed cake and pastry filling or 2 T. poppy seeds

½ cup low fat buttermilk or plain yogurt

1-2 T. olive oil

1 t. GF lemon extract, optional (or 1 T. fresh lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 12 muffin tray with paper liners.

Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest and zucchini.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with sugar/sweetener until creamy. Blend in the poppy seed filling or poppy seeds, buttermilk/yogurt, olive oil and lemon extract or lemon juice.

Now mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, filling three-fourths full. Bake 25-30 minutes and test with a toothpick for doneness. Allow to cool before removing paper liners.

Notes: *I used 1½ cups Trader Joe's Blanched Almond Meal. **In place of the sugar, use 3 T. agave syrup or 1/4 cup powdered stevia (Trader Joe’s brand); increase the flour in the recipe by a couple of tablespoons.

Makes: Twelve muffins.

For more recipes, check out my cookbook: "Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free and Wheat Free Cooking. It is available at:   

http://www.celiacdiseaseinfo.org

http://www.amazon.com/Delicious-Cooking-Collection-Celiacs-Sensitive/dp/0615305709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282852260&sr=1-

Mushroom-Spinach Quiche

The traditional fat laden and labor-intensive pie crust is replaced by a simple grated potato crust that is both quick and easy…and with far fewer calories. Yum!

½ pound Yukon Gold potatoes, shredded on the side of a cheese grater and drained in paper towels.

3 t. olive oil

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

½ small onion, diced

8 ounce package of white mushrooms, sliced

5 ounce bag of baby spinach

4 slices of center cut bacon, fried, and chopped (optional)

3 large eggs

1 cup low fat milk

1 ounce low fat cheddar cheese or Parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

Lightly oil an 8-9 inch pie plate (glass or ceramic preferred) with spray olive oil mist or about ¼ t. olive oil.

Toss the grated potatoes with 1 t. oil and a little salt and fresh ground pepper. Press the grated potatoes onto the pie pan and up the sides, evenly covering the pan to create a crust. (This is really slick…and so QUICK!) Bake until the edges are golden brown; about 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

Reduce oven to 325˚F. Heat another teaspoon of oil in a skillet and sauté the onions for about 4 minutes over medium heat. Add another teaspoon of oil and the sliced mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates, about 10 minutes. Fold in spinach with a little bit more salt and pepper and cook for about 30 seconds until the spinach wilts. Fold in the bacon if using. Set aside.

In separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and a little more salt and pepper. Gently place the spinach mushroom mixture in the pie shell. Top with the grated cheese. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the pie, being careful not to let it spill over.

Bake until set around the edges, but with center of pie still a bit wobbly; about 20 minutes or so. Allow to come to room temperature if desired or serve warm.

Makes: 8 servings.

For more recipes, check out my cookbook: 

http://www.amazon.com/Delicious-Cooking-Collection-Celiacs-Sensitive/dp/0615305709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282852260&sr=1-