Sunday seems to be soup day

Sunday has its own routine, mostly involving chores and cooking.

We get up and get ready for church; on our way out the door, I throw a load of bedding in the wash so we don’t have to listen to it. We go to church, and then we go to Chipotle, where our orders are memorized and the staff say, “Good to see you again.”

Sometimes afterward we run to the grocery store or the bookstore or the library, but usually we go home.

At home, I put the laundry in the dryer and usually make cookies, although sometimes applesauce. This week, I made two dozen chocolate chip and pecan cookies by halving the recipe on the back of the Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips, adding 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon to the flour and 1/2 c. each of chocolate chips and chopped pecans. They came out yummy. I hope the women in my Bible study tomorrow think so too.

The afternoon can have different dimensions but usually goes something like this: I talk on Skype with my friend, I write three short articles for work, I watch a TV show, I make soup for dinner, the leftovers of which are designated for my lunch for a couple of days. In the evening I read.

The soup I am making today is a variation or, more properly, a conglomeration of several chicken tortilla soup recipes I viewed online. Its chief attraction is that it has only six main ingredients, plus spices.

Mexican Chicken Soup

1. Dice a medium onion and saute in vegetable oil in the bottom of a soup pot until soft (with minced garlic if you have some).
2. Add these items to the pot: a can of fire roasted tomatoes, a can of white and yellow corn (drained), a can of black beans (drained), an 8 oz. can of chicken, a 32 oz. box of chicken broth or stock. Instead of the can, you can also boil a chicken breast and shred it with a fork or dice some leftover chicken, which is much more my style.
3. Optional: garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, paprika, fresh or dried cilantro, or a jar of salsa instead of the diced tomatoes.
4. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 15 minutes. Longer is better.
5. Serve with, according to taste, tortilla strips, avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, or chips and salsa. Serves 6 (appetizer) or 4 (main course).

It seems pretty foolproof to me, but I’ll let you know how it turns out.