Tortilla Soup

My friend and I had this tradition in high school. We called it Tortilla Soup and Secrets. We would eat tortilla soup from the night before on my bed and talk. And that was all, and it was awesome. 

This soup is awesome. It is tasty and easily adaptable. You can substitute low sodium, or low fat ingredients if you want. Or just enjoy it in it's full fat glory. Don't worry, it's still healthy.

Tortilla Soup
From the kitchen of Fern Woodbury


In a large pot, combine the following:
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
1 can Rotel tomatoes
2 cans (16oz each) whole peeled tomatoes, blended until pureed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Garnish with toppings and enjoy,

Optional Toppings:
Cheese- cheddar, monterrey jack, pepper jack, colby
Sour Cream
Avocado
Tortilla Chips
Salt to taste

Banana Snack Cake

I woke up yesterday and wanted to make some rice pudding with my leftover rice. So I put the rice in the pot and realized I was out of milk. No big deal, I used some evaporated milk. Turns out I was also out of sugar, white and brown, so I used the last of my honey. I decided it was time to go grocery shopping...

Armed with fresh ingredients, I decided to make this delicious snack cake with those bananas that has been sitting on the counter for too long. I accidentally doubled the first two ingredients, so I just had to double the rest. Too bad :)

This recipe is a family favorite and one of the recipes that we would make all the time when we were down in Peru because it is easy and we always had bananas.

Banana Snack Cake

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk (or milk with a tsp of vinegar or lemon juice)
2 bananas- mashed
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup whole oats
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla and bananas.
In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Add
chocolate chips and pour into 9x13 greased pan or greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 35-40 min or
until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

College Friendly: Lemon Garlic Tilapia

I was on the phone with my mom the other day and she asked for some easy, healthy recipe ideas for my brother heading back to college. Apparently there are a disproportionate amount of desserts on my blog...  Which sparked an idea for a project! A collection of recipes that have 5 or less ingredients, are budget friendly and healthy. Fun, right?

This is  my first attempt, and here is the breakdown:

Tilapia has low calories, omega 3, vitamin B12 and plenty of potassium. Lemons are immune boosting and have lots of vitamin C. Garlic apparently prevents cancer. So healthy.

Lemons are about 50 cents each, Tiliapia is just over a dollar a fish and garlic is pennies. So cheap.

And easy. Assuming you already have salt and pepper, the only ingredients you need are
1 tilapia fillet
1 lemon
2 tsps of minced garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
2 Tbsps of olive oil
1 Tbsp dried parsley

Here is what you do. Line a pan with tinfoil (to make clean up easier).

Squeeze 1/2 of the lemon into the pan, drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil, add 1 teaspoon garlic, 1/2 Tbsp parsley and a dash of salt and pepper.

Lay tilapia in the pan and add remaining lemon, olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. If you want to you can add some lemon zest or lemon slices.

Broil at 400 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes.

Serve with rice and vegetables.