Monday, September 20, 2010

Tortilla Soup: A Stone Soup Recipe with Corn Chips

OK, College Cooks. What to cook when the cupboards seem bare? There's a wonderful book that I have at home somewhere called What to Cook When You Think There's Nothing in the House to Eat. Isn't that the greatest concept?

This is a situation that afflicts most people at one time or another. But for the College Cook the situation is particularly acute: nothing may really be (almost) nothing.

Surely, College Cooks can usually rustle up some chips and salsa, right? Well, those two ingredients are the basis, not only of the chilaquiles I wrote about yesterday, but of tortilla soup.

You can do this in your rice cooker, or, if you haven't yet gotten one, in a big microwave-safe bowl. As befits a stone soup recipe, amounts are flexible, as are ingredients. The more ingredients you have, the better this is.

Salsa
plus water or stock
plus corn (frozen? canned?)
plus beans (do you have a can? refried beans would work too)
plus rice (already cooked is OK)
plus cheese (put on top when done)
Chips

If you have some sour cream for topping or, omg, guacamole, this is sublime. Oh, does one of your friends have a few scraps of cooked meat (chicken or even meatballs)? Throw it in!

Basically, you can have dinner out of the leftovers from tailgating or game night.

I hope you college students read Stone Soup in your youth. It is a favorite from my own childhood. I was thrilled that the version I read was still available for my own children. It is available even today. A classic.

Four of the suggested ingredients are among the basic 20 ingredients in our little ebook! Check it out.

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