Must Go Soup

I was on a soup kick last week when it was finally feeling like winter in So Cal, but now that it's in the 80s again, it's weird to post about soup.  I'll post it anyways because it's an easy meal and tastes good, too.  I've made several different soups with my vitamix blender and they always taste a little different because I use whatever ingredients I have in my fridge that "must go."  I use a chicken bouillon cube as my base along with carrots and celery and the rest of the veggies depends on what "must go."  

What's awesome about making soup in the vitamix is that I can liquify fresh veggies to make soup and can have a hot, yes HOT, soup on the table in 10 minutes.  Easy peasy!  Sometimes I'll make my soup and let it simmer in the dutch oven for an hour or more as that really heightens the flavor of the soup.  But...if I'm pressed for time, it goes straight from blender to bowl.  What's great about the Must Go Soup is that you use it as your base and then throw additional veggies and/or meat to make it a heartier soup.  My boys love Chicken Tortilla Soup so I add a few extra ingredients and they scarf it down.  Tasty for sure!

Chicken Tortilla Soup using a tomato as part of the soup base and topped with fresh cilantro and salsa, grilled chicken, shredded cheese, and chips.

Another version of Chicken Tortilla Soup but without the tomato as part of the base.

Instead, I threw in a handful of "must go" cilantro and blended it for 10 seconds before putting the soup in the dutch oven to simmer for an hour.  

Must Go Soup

Yield:  4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 c hot water
• 2 carrots- cut into 2" pieces (it's easier on the blender)
• 4 celery stalks- cut into 2" pieces (it's easier on the blender)
• 1 slice onion- don't add too much unless you're cooking down the soup.
• 1/2 red bell pepper- I buy the red, orange, yellow pepper pack from Costco and use whatever I have.
• 1 clove garlic- If I'm cooking down the soup, I'll add 2-3 garlic cloves.
• 1 chicken (or veggie) bouillon cube- if you don't have bouillon, you can use 2 c chicken stock (or veggie) instead of water and bouillon.

Optional ingredients:

• 1 small jalapeno if you like heat - seeded and ribs removed
• Have another veggie that "must go?"  Throw it in!
• black beans- drained and rinsed
• corn- drained
• cilantro- washed
• chicken- cooked and cubed

Toppings:

• avocado
• sour cream
• shredded cheese
• tortilla chips
• olives
• cilantro
• red onions
• salsa/hot sauce

Directions:

1. Put ingredients into Vitamix in the order listed.  If you don't have a Vitamix, you might be able to use your food processor.  Since I've only liquified fresh veggies in my Vitamix, I don't know how the food processor would work out but you can try with caution.
2. Always start with dial on "Variable 1."  Turn on vitamix and slowly increase speed to Variable 10 and within 1-2 minutes, flick switch to "High."  Blend on high speed approx. 6 minutes or until steaming hot.
3. If making Tortilla Soup, reduce speed to Variable 2, remove the lid plug, carefully drop in additional ingredients (black beans, corn, cilantro, tortilla chips, chicken, etc.), and blend for 10 seconds.  Don't over-do it or you'll end up liquifying the add-ins.  The add-ins are great because it creates a nice texture to the soup.  
4. Pour into soup bowls, add toppings of choice, and ENJOY!