Gayle's Vegetarian Tortilla Soup Variation Recipe

Recipe of the Week: Gayle’s Vegetarian Tortilla Soup Variation

This is a variation of a widely-published and shared recipe.

Ingredients

1 (1 pound) package frozen pepper and onion stir fry mix (or fresh equivalent)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
3 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
4 (14 ounce) cans vegetable broth (or equivalent volume of homemade broth.)
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn (or fresh or frozen equivalent volume)
12 ounces tortilla chips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 avocado – peeled, pitted and diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot, over medium heat. Stir in the pepper and onion stir fry mix, garlic, and cumin, and cook 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Mix in the tomatoes and chile peppers. Pour in the broth, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes.
Mix corn into the soup, and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Serve in bowls over equal amounts of tortilla chips. Top with cheese and avocado.

(Makes 12 Servings)

Gayle’s Variations:

I use a large yellow onion and a fresh red bell pepper–instead of a frozen package. The food processor does a great job of chopping it finely before sautéing. I also add a can of drained black beans (or pinto beans) and about a cup of frozen corn instead of canned.

You can decrease the amount of cumin (1 to 2 Tbsp. is plenty) and/or chiles, to your own taste. I also use two 32 oz. retort-packaged cartons of vegetable broth instead of canned broth. And of course homemade broth is even better.