Quinoa "Tortilla" Taco Soup with Beef, Black Beans, and Tomatoes

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Fall makes me so nostalgic. From soup to tall boots to Halloween costumes, there is something in it for everyone that reminds us of years past. 

And so, naturally, I'm making the most of it. Bring on the crock pot, my friend.

After the last batch of chili, I've been on a soup kick. It's the easiest way to have a large volume of healthy eats available at a moment's notice.

One of my favorite soups is tortilla soup... minus the tortilla. Basically, I just want a taco in a bowl. Only, the day I was making this, I only had frozen chicken, and a few pounds of lean ground beef were burning a hole in my fridge. So, beef it was! Feel free to sub shredded chicken, if need be!

I also decided to add quinoa to this recipe, to give it some "staying power" and add some fiber. If you can't handle the QUEEN, feel free to sub for couscous or rice. But, really... try the quinoa!

Quinoa Taco Soup with Beef, Black Beans, and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1.5 cups dry quinoa
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 can roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup black beans
• 1lb lean ground beef

Directions:

1. Boil 4 cups chicken stock. Add quinoa, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
2. Brown ground beef in a pan.
3. Add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, black beans, and cooked ground beef to the pot of chicken stock and quinoa.
4. Cook on low for 3 hours.
5. Add remaining chicken stock and cook for another hour.

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salsa (and Semi-Homemade Tortilla Chips)

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Once upon a time, Justin and I were in the mood for something spicy. And by spicy, I mean salsa. But we wanted spicy, chunky salsa. And we wanted some color. Hence the corn.

The salsa itself is pretty darn hot... unless you cut the Sriracha Sauce in half (which is do-able, but why, why, why would you want to?!). But here we were, a delicious bowl of Salsa in front of us, with no chips. How could we forget the chips?!

Justin muttered to himself... Darn. I wish we had chips.

My response? Give me ten minutes.

And, true to my word, ten minutes later, I had semi-homemade tortilla chips (thank God we had a bag of "authentic" corn tortillas hanging around!). And the rest, as they say, is history! :)

...oh, but did I mention the whole bowl is only 206 calories (and with 42% of your daily FIBER intake?!)

 

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Calories Total: 206 (for the salsa recipe only)
Calories Per Serving: 52 (based on 4 servings)
Prep Time: 2 Minutes

Ingredients for Salsa:

• 1/2 Cup Corn (Look for Whole Kernal Corn and try to avoid any corn that says "Sweet," "Sweetened," etc)
• 2 Tomatoes, diced (or 1 cup Canned Crushed Tomatoes with No Salt Added)
• 1/2 cup Organic Black Beans (if buying a can, look for no added salt or low sodium)
• 2 tsp Sriracha Sauce (or 1 tsp for a more mild salsa)

Ingredients for Homemade Tortilla Chips (Just in case!):

• 8-10 corn tortillas (look for the lowest calorie bag. I've found that authentic is actually better in this particular quest!)

Directions for Salsa:

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well
2. Serve with chips! 

Directions for Homemade Tortilla Chips (Just in case!):

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Stack Tortillas on top of each other and then cut them, all at once, into 4 triangle pieces for large chips or 8 for small chips.
3. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crispy. Make sure to test a chip before you turn the oven off! If they're not crispy enough, keep them in for another few minutes.