Juan, donde esta la biblioteca ?

I am a t-o-t-a-l soup fan.  Year round, I'll pound back soup like there's no tomorrow.  Unfortunately I've lost a lot of soups to my new GF diet [cream of broccoli, beef barley, French onion].  If I get really creative, I'm able to use my own ingredients to make substitutes, 

but I can no longer revel in the "soup du jour" when out and about.  

With all that said, I've discovered a new favorite!  I'm not generally a fan of Mexican cuisine. [When I say "not a fan" I actually mean "I hate it"]  ..Works just fine for me that I can no longer have burritos or flour tortillas.  I'm not a huge fan of beans or cumin, truthfully..  But this recipe that I'm about to share is an American-ized version of a Mexican dish.  I guess it's a spin-off of Chili's "South of the Border" soup.  I tried it for the first time just 2 days ago at work, and I lost no time in whipping up a batch last night.  

The awesome part of this soup is it's naturally gluten-free: the tomato base is thickened with dissolved soft corn tortilla rounds, and there are no noodles involved.  The basic ingredients are chicken, green beans, kidney or black beans, tomato, and soft tortillas.  Props to my new employer for having this bubbling on her stove when I arrived. 
Hearing it was naturally gluten-free, I was all over it.  

Don't be turned off though, if beans and tomato aren't generally your thing.. They aren't mine, either.  I actually don't even like tomato soup.  But there's some sort of balance in the flavors that makes this soup a home run.  Take my word for it. 
The recipe is as follows:

South of the Border soup

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth

1 lb. diced chicken breast

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/2 cup water

2 cups dark red kidney beans or 2 cups black beans, with liquid

1/2 cup frozen cut green beans

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies

1/2 cup diced Spanish onion

1/2 cup tomato sauce

8 soft corn tortillas

1.5 tsps. chili powder [or more, depending on how spicy you like it!]

1 tsp. garlic powder

Garnish

1 cup grated cheddar cheese or 1 cup monterey jack cheese, blend [optional]

1 cup crumbled corn tortilla chips [optional]

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins.

Total Time: 45 mins.

1.  Combine all the soup ingredients in a large saucepan or soup pot over high heat. Be sure to mince the corn tortillas into small pieces with a sharp knife before adding them to the soup.
2. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the soup has thickened and tortilla pieces have mostly dissolved.
3. To serve soup, ladle 1 1/2 cups into a bowl. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of the grated cheese over the top of the soup and then a heaping tablespoon of crumbled tortilla chips over the cheese.
4. Enjoy!

I was anticipating a bland soup when I first saw it, but it's nothing of the sort.  The flavors really come together and pack a punch! Let me know if you make this, and what you think.  =)

This pursuit of mine.

Banana bread has always been a favorite of mine.  The past year or two I've even started to add chocolate chips to the recipe.. which only perpetuated my problem.

I have, hands down, THE best banana bread recipe of all time.  I don't generally say things like that when it comes to the kitchen [since I'm far from well-seasoned in it.. (no pun intended)], but it's true.  A whole bunch of ingredients get dumped into one bowl [just one bowl!], mixed, and tossed into the oven.  I made a loaf for my next door neighbor for Christmas, and she said it's the best banana bread she's ever had.. 

and I think she's in her 70's.  

The only problem with this [amazing] banana bread is the fact that two loaves calls for 3 cups of sugar, 4 eggs, and a cup of oil.  Totally horrifying.  If you're someone like me who's watching your cholesterol, this recipe should have caution tape all over it. 
But MAN, is it good. 

Anyway.  Yesterday I went on a mission to find a healthy banana bread recipe.  Didn't think it'd happen, but Google can do some amazing things.  I substituted my GF flour, left out the nuts, and an hour later I had healthy banana bread.  Truly healthy, as in yogurt and egg whites.  Truthfully, it wasn't nearly as sweet as I was accustomed to, so when I do it again I'll add a little more sugar.  Maybe even double.. but that's still half the sugar of my other recipe.  I'm including the recipe here on my site, to give credit to the woman who created it.  And below is a picture of the finished product.  If you're looking for a healthy banana bread recipe that isn't sweet like cake,
this one's for you. 

http://www.whatwouldcathyeat.com/2010/03/banana-bread/

The vanilla yogurt allowed it to be moist, regardless of the fact that it calls for so little oil.  Certainly the way to go.  


**PS - I did the math.  And for my fellow Weight Watchers out there, the entire loaf is 56 points.  I divided the loaf into 10 slices, making each slice approximately 5.5 PP points.  VERY reasonable for a breakfast on the go. 
[and I don't cut wimpy slices!!]

Dairy nut.

When I went through the whole dietary process to figure out what my food issues were, I had to give up dairy for almost a month.  [A month!]  In short, it was horrible.  I relied heavily upon almond and rice milk.. and hated both.  The trouble was, I had to have the plain ones, since "no sugar added" was a prerequisite to a successful elimination diet.  All the recommendations of the vanilla and chocolate-flavored "faux milks" were useless to me.  

I remember telling myself that as long as I didn't have issues with gluten or dairy, I could handle whatever results came my way.  Guess THAT didn't work out the way I wanted. 
God let me keep my dairy, but my gluten.. well, that was another story.

Anyway.  So in the past two weeks I've really jumped aboard the organic bandwagon.  With the news that my body can't process gluten properly, I've literally been forced to watch what I'm eating closely.  I was always a nutritional facts nut, but now I'm all over the ingredients portion of boxes and bags.  And I should be.  I don't think two-thirds of Americans have ANY idea what they're eating. 
I can honestly say that I'm now a much more responsible eater.

Dairy is a BIG part of my diet.  Cereal is [was] my staple.  Unfortunately ALL of my favorite cereals are now out: Wheaties, Frosted Mini Wheats, Special K, Cornflakes, Rice Krispies.. etc.  [All have gluten in them]  But I still have milk all the time; it's in my chai, it's in my prepared dishes.. I eat yogurt almost daily.  I guess I didn't realize what was in my milk, though.. until a week or two ago. 
Watch Food Inc., do a little Googling, and we'll be on the same page.

Where am I going with this post?  Well, I'm actually really excited [probably too excited] to announce that Scott just walked in the door with organic milk.  From Target!!  I can't wait to try it.  I don't expect it to taste any better, but now I know my milk isn't ridden with antibiotics and GMO's.  My milk is no longer a by-product of sick cows up to their knees in toxic waste. 
Yay!  

I'm not sure Scott and I can afford this organic endeavor, but I pray it will come together for us. 
For our sake. 

I'm about to make a smoothie, and I no longer have to cringe.
Woot, woot.