Vegetable Tortilla Soup

(Kelly Jaggers)

Make this as mild or as spicy as you wish by adding more or less hot sauce, depending on what you and your guests or family like.

Difficulty: Medium

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped (ask an adult to help)
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces tortilla chips

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Add tomato paste, cumin, and chili powder and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes and bell peppers. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the lime juice, broth, beans, corn, salt, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce. When the soup boils, turn the heat down to low. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes.

Use a ladle to pour the soup into individual bowls. Top each bowl with avocado, cheese, and tortilla chips. Serve right away.

Nutritional Info Per Serving

Calories: 340 | Fat: 18g | Sodium: 1,310mg | Carbohydrates: 40g | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Protein: 8g

Excerpted from “The Everything Kids’ Cookbook, Updated Edition” by Sandra K. Nissenberg. Copyright 2002, 2008, 2020 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Photographs by Kelly Jaggers. Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.