Vegetable Tortilla Soup

So today is the first day of fall and here in CO it was a rainy one. I felt it was time to make a nice homemade soup. It is getting colder and fall is definitely here. We have been eating lots of dips these last few Saturday's when watching football and Jimmy has been saving the crushed chips for me. This is something I have never made but he keeps asking me about it. I was not sure exactly what he wanted when he kept saying tortilla soup so I looked up a few recipes today and new this would be something I could make my own and would be simple. Plus we bought a crock pot a few weeks ago and I have been dying to use it. It was absolutely delicious and I would totally make it again on a nice cold day. Our crock pot is small so I made a half recipe which made about 2 big bowls. If you want more just double all the ingredients. I hope you enjoy this one!

Ingredients

1/2 yellow onion (diced)

1/2 red, yellow orange or green pepper (diced)

2 gloves garlic (minced)

1 can whole kernel corn (rinsed)

1 can black beans (rinsed)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 medium tomato (diced)

jared jalepenos diced (to taste)

2 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoons paprika 

hot sauce (to taste)

crumbled tortilla chips

salt/pepper

vegan cheddar cheese (optional)

vegan sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Combine all your ingredients except the crushed chips into a crock pot. Mix them together and turn on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.

2. Add your tortilla chips about 10 minutes before you are going to serve. 

3. Place into a bowl and garnish with cheddar cheese and sour cream if you want. The sour cream helps with the spice. Serve with some extra tortilla chips as well. The crunchy factor adds a little extra to the dish!

ENJOY :)

Sautéed Zucchini

Man o man has third grade kept me busy. We will be starting week 3 of kids tomorrow and I can not believe how fast it is going. I have an amazing class overall. I am up to 21 8 year olds and they seem to always keep me on my toes. They are a great bunch though and I do no have much to complain about! 

SInce being back we have been trying to eat a lot healthier. We did really well the first 2 weeks but once the kids came things have begun to change. Over all we are still eating a ton of vegetables so we haven't completely fell of the wagon. On Tuesday nights there is a little farmers market here in town and they have tons of fresh vegetables. We have been buying corn and lots of Zucchini. I have made this a few times as the main part of our meal but it is also a great side. My mom actually use to make this exact recipe in the summer times. I love that this is hers because she does not cook all that much but I can say that this is HER recipe. So thanks mom and sorry I am stealing it and putting it on my blog! LOVE YOU! well anyway this is pretty quick and very tasty. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1 medium onion

1 large zucchini

1 can diced tomatoes (drained) 

garlic salt

McCormacks steak seasoning

Mrs.Dash

italin seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup mushrooms (optional)

1 medium yellow squash (optional)

***the picture has mushrooms in it and not squash but you can definitely use both or neither it is up to you, I have made it both ways*** 

Directions

1. Cut your onion in to half sized pieces and add to pan with olive oil. Turn on medium heat and sauté for about 5 minutes. 

2. Cut your Zucchini and/or squash in half and then into thin slices. Add to pan with onions and cook for another 5 minutes. 

3. If you are using mushrooms dice and add to pan. Cook for 3 more minutes.

4. Drain your can of diced tomatoes but leave just a little juice in it. Add to pan and mix together. Add all your spices to taste and sauté a few more minutes until it is all hot. 

5. Serve hot and enjoy! :)