Wednesday, July 31, 2013

TexMex Style Soup

Hi Everyone! So as many of you probably know, I LOVE Southern California (specifically San Diego). I dream of living there and enjoying the wonderful weather and food someday! I also LOVE soup; is that weird? Its mid-Summer here in NJ and the weather isn't too bad- about 85 degrees and clear today. Typically we get dreadfully hot and humid weather that is not appropriate for soup. I am a year-round soup eater and today I was reminiscing about SoCal and decided to make a spicy little soup.



Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, cut up in large chunks
3.5 cups low sodium broth (i used vegetable)
1 medium onion
2/3 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1/2 cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried oregano
2 large bay leaves
Sriracha-optional
Avocado- optional
Salsa- optional
Olive oil

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Place cauliflower on an non-greased baking sheet with a silpat. Back for 30 minutes.
3) While cauliflower bakes, slice onion into and caramelized with a 1-2 tsp olive oil. The edges should become slightly browned.
4) Once cauliflower and onions are done, add to a pot with low sodium broth. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes on medium/low.
5) To blend the vegetables you can either use an immersion blender (which I don't have) or pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot and turn to medium heat.
6) Add black pepper, paprika, oregano, salt and bay leaves. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
7) Grate garlic cloves into soup and add Greek yogurt. Stir until smooth.
8) Add cheddar and mozzarella cheese and cook another 5-6 minutes until melted and mixed thoroughly.
9) Serve with optional toppings such as sliced avocado, sriracha for heat or your favorite salsa ( I use Trader Joe's Corn & Black Bean Salsa). Enjoy!