sour cream | Kickin' it in the Kitchen

As promised, welcome to my tortilla soup.

OK. So, like most of ya’ll, we have some family traditions this time of year. Besides the more-people-than-places-to-sit type celebration which is the only way I know how to give thanks in November, one of my favorite traditions is making tortilla soup with the turkey leftovers.

Now my dad is Mexican and nothing would please me more than to say that I will soon be revealing my Grandmother’s family recipe from the hills of Tabasco. Unfortunately that is not the case. Nope. This is because like in most homes, it was my mother’s culture that influenced our meals. I think my mom–Michigander of German descent–found her tortilla soup recipe in a magzine years ago. I will say this: we have altered and, dare I say, perfected the recipe. (Yes. I dare.)

You can go to 20 Mexican restaurants and have tortilla soup served 20 different ways. I actually don’t order it out any more because, well, I like my Michigander-German-descent-from-a-magazine-but-now-doctored-up-just-right concoction just fine. Before reading on, don’t be intimidated by the seemingly long list of ingredients. There’s nothing too exotic in here, which is yet another reason to love it.

Michelle’s Tortilla Soup

Soup Ingredients: 1-2 lbs chopped chicken, turkey or beef, 3 tbsp. olive oil, small can diced chilis, 2 medium chopped onions, 2 diced red bell peppers, 2 cans drained black beans, 28 oz. can chopped tomato w/juice or a few diced fresh tomatoes, 6 cups chicken/turkey/or beef broth/or a combination of meat broths, 1 can tomato sauce, 1-3 tbsp. cumin, 1-2 tbsp. chili powder, 2 tbsp. worchestershire, 3 cloves garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Toppings: diced green onion, diced fresh cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, corn tortillas cut into squares, tortilla chips

Directions: If the meat is raw, cook it in the oil with the onion, bell peppers and garlic. If meat is cooked, put it aside while cooking onions, peppers and garlic. Then add all other soup ingredients (including the meat), bring to a boil and then let simmer on low for about 45 minutes. If possible, make this a day ahead of time, refrigerate and then reheat. Chilling the soup and then warming it back up helps all the yumola flavors really get to know one another. That said, it can be really hard to wait to eat this soup!

Regarding the toppings, Mike loves his tortillas to get heated up with the soup so they get sort of melded into his steamy bowl. I actually just like a few crunchy tortilla chips on top with the cilantro and onion. You do what works for you. K?

Tips: I made this batch of soup with a bone broth I made for 36 hours in the crock pot after Thanksgiving. It. Is. So. Good. Oh; this recipe is pretty mild so my kids and mother can eat it. You can also add diced jalapenos to the soup and/or include some spicy salsa on your list of toppings. Final tip = don’t worry about quantities in this here recipe too much. If your soup is too thin, add more toppings. Done.

I met this chili, and Kitty Purgason, at the Pasadena Covenant Church meal contest last fall. This church provides shelter and meals to homeless folks on cold, wet winter nights.. Roughly 12 members of the congregation volunteered to whip up their favorite home-cooked recipes, provide a “taste off,” and use a vote to choose the upcoming menu.

People, this is my kind of church experience–it’s got “Midwest” written all over it.

My Michigander transplant girlfriend, Lisa, is a Covenant Church member and she lets me tag along when I’m in the mood. As a native Minnesotan raised in a Methodist home and church, from the first time I popped my eclectically-spiritual face onto the Covenant scene I felt right at home. Throw in a pot-luck taste test with a recipe made by the you-can’t-get-more-Midwestern-than-this: Kitty Purgason… Girlfriend, that is a taste of Michelle’s heaven.

The Midwestern United States isn’t exactly known for its gourmet approach to food. Common references to “casseroles” and questions regarding the usage of cream of mushroom soup have arisen. And while, yes, casseroles (actually, the correct term is “hot-dish,”) and cream of mushroom soup are something with which we Mid-westerners are familiar, we offer much more to the culinary world.

The Midwestern philosophy to cooking is actually quite a hat-tip to the modern mama. Savory. Efficient. Satisfying. Wholesome. These are words that, when used to describe dinner, are often met with smiles. I said SMILES. Who couldn’t use more of those at the table?

I love Kitty Purgason’s White Chicken Chili for three reasons. First of all, it’s easy-tasty-healthy. Second, the ingredients can be kept on hand (most in the pantry) for easy whip-up’ed-ness. Also, you can totally fudge the quantities on pretty much everything (just throw in extra this if you are missing a can of that) and still present a delicious meal for your family. Now you can smile too!

Finally, the name Kitty Purgason makes my heart smile. Back in Rochester, Minnesota I had a classmate named Kitty who, in the third grade, helped me with fractions and taught me how to draw trees that didn’t resemble lollipops. My childhood friend, Kitty, was friendly and generous, much like the Covenant-Church-Kitty I recently met.

Besides “Calva,” my elementary classroom rosters had a list of surnames including Torgrimson, Olson and Thompson. So, when kind hand of someone named Kitty Purgason was extended to me over my chili sample that fall day, I just knew this recipe would join my life and table.

Now it can join yours too.

Kitty Purgason’s White Chicken Chili

Chili Ingredients: 1 chopped onion, 2 crushed garlic cloves, couple three cans chicken broth (0r approximate equivalent), leftover diced cooked chicken, 1 can drained white or pinto beans, 1 can corn (drain but save liquid in case you need it), 1 can chopped tomatoes with liquid, 1 (or 2) small can mild green chilis, optional: chopped fresh tomatillos if available. See toppings ingredients below…

Definitely serve with: fresh lime, tortilla chip crumbles Optionally serve with (unless you’re at my house, then this is definite too!): sour cream, fresh chopped cilantro, diced green onion, hot sauce

Directions: Saute onion and garlic with a few splashes of olive oil. Add everything else and bring to a simmer. Um… you’re done and it likely took all of 12 minutes.

Notes: This is a very mild chili, which works great for my kids. We all love the lime and chips on top and I put the rest of the accoutrements on the table and we sprinkle as desired. Mike and I add hot sauce, but of course… Doctoring your bowl of yum up with all the fixin’s is really half the fun. Also, even though I live a stone’s throw from a Latino super market and could get tomatillos in a second, I have never gone to the trouble when making this recipe and and it still tastes stellar.

Final Note (still with me?): Feel free to use fresh corn, fresh tomatoes, etc… if you have them on hand, of course. But isn’t it nice to know you don’t have to?